Unrequited Love
by CuddleMeCozy
Summary: Mallory likes Wiidwing but he doesn't seem to notice her at all. An new villain is on the loose in Anaheim and he has history with Mallory. No one knows whats going on and Mallory is unwilling to tell anybody about her past with this duck. This guy is crazy, brilliant and Special forces trained. Making him a deadly opponent. WW/M Eventually.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Mallory huffed as she walked back to the Migrator with a limping Nosedive leaning on her for support. Wildwing was not going to be happy. "What'cha sighing for Mal?" Even hurt he still kept his cheery demeanor.

"Your brother is not going to be happy." Mallory looked at Nosedive from the side of her eye. She wasn't looking forward to the look of disappointment he would be giving both of them when he found out what happened. Nosedive had slipped on a wet metal walkway and Mallory dove to grab him before he fell. Her gun dropped out of it holder and went off, alerting the enemy to their presents. Thing was, if he fell he would have been fine, it wasn't that far of a fall but she saw him go over the side and reacted on instinct. When pulling him up over the railing he landed on his foot wrong and twisted his ankle, that was it.

Dragaunus's goons got away, Nosedive ended up twisting his ankle and they had a game tomorrow. Well fuck.

Making it to the Migrator with the others Mallory and Nosedive cringed when they saw the annoyed faces of their companions. Duke crossed his arms and shook his head while Tanya was tapping her foot in annoyance. Grin was slight and unreadable while Wildwing had an annoyed look on his face. However, once he saw his brother leaning on Mallory for support he skipped over the lectures and went right to his team's health. "What happened Nosedive?"

"Sprained ankle." Nosedive mumbled.

"What?! Are ya kiddin'! We have a game tomorrow!" Duke said while uncrossing his arms and throwing them in the air for dramatic affect.

Tanya inspected Nosedive's ankle while Mallory helped him sit on a crate. "Mallory a moment." Wildwing called her over. She walked to him while the others gave them privacy. Tanya shook her head while looking at Nosedive's ankle, it wasn't looking good.

"What happened up there?" Wildwing wasn't about to go accusing them of screwing everything up, he didn't know all of the details. Mallory explained what happened and Wildwing listened with his hands on his hips. "So it was kind of a freak accident." He finished up for her.

"Yeah I'd say so. His feet just went out right from under him." Mallory confirmed. "But it was my fault that they were alerted to our presence. If I had properly put away my gun, then they would never have been alerted. So if you're going to punish someone it should be me." She wanted to take full responsibility for this, it was her fault.

"Well we do agree on that but in the end it really was kind of a freak accident." Wildwing put his hand on her shoulder to confront her, giving it a pat. "Don't over think it." He let his arm drop, his fingertips grazing her feathers and skin, sending a shiver down her spine. Did he even know what that did to her?

He walked back over to the others completely unfazed. "Alright team. Let's head home."

Mallory sighed as she followed everyone on to the Migrator. This week already was starting to suck...

…..

The next day, Nosedive's foot was wrapped and they had to miss the game because his ankle needed to heal. So he was bored in general. Grabbing his load of laundry, he threw it into a washer and started it. While leaning against the counter he saw a bunch of clothes sitting on the counter opposite him, freshly cleaned and waiting to be folded. He knew those colors; those were Mallory's clothes. Curiosity got the better of him and he went over and looked what kind of clothes she had.

Searching through the pile he found all kinds of dresses and tops but once again getting bored all too quickly. Trying to find new ways to entertain himself he found some matches lying next to the large pile of clothing. "Well what do we have here." He smirked.

Not even ten minutes later, Nosedive was scratching the back of his neck, looking sheepish. Wildwing was giving him a disapproving glare that could have stopped Dragaunus in his tracks, while Tanya tried to offer Mallory confront. Duke was trying not to laugh and Grin was completely neutral. Feeling that they weren't needed in the situation, Duke and Grin left quietly.

Mallory could hardly believe it. Almost all of her clothes were ruined. She looked at the burnt and tattered remains of what was her wardrobe. "This sucks." She growled, extremely pissed off. Of all of the places he decided to play with matches, it had to be right next to her all of her freshly cleaned clothes.

"Don't worry Mallory. They will be swimming on you but you can borrow some of my clothes until you buy more." Tanya offered her friend, trying to calm the situation.

Mallory sighed. "Thank you but no. I have at least one set left." She motioned to herself with her hand.

"And Nosedive will go with you tomorrow to buy you some new clothes, since he is the one who destroyed them." Wildwing said sternly, very unhappy with his younger sibling.

"Ah come on Bro! It was an accident!" Nosedive defended himself.

"Doesn't change the fact that it's your fault." The older drake stood with his arms crossed.

While Wildwing and Nosedive argued Tanya helped Mallory stand. "Come on. Let's go out and get something to eat." Tanya lead Mallory out by her arm, making sure to keep her as far away from Nosedive as possible.

…..

Later that night Mallory was ready to go to bed when she realized she had a dilemma. "Crap. I have nothing to sleep in." She muttered to herself, as she walked to Tanya's room. Knocking on her door she waited for a response but there was no sound or movement inside. "Where is she?"

"What are you doing up this late?"

Mallory jumped and turned to the voice coming down the hall. Wildwing was in his casual clothes with the mask in place. "Oh hi. I was trying to see if I could borrow a shirt from Tanya to sleep in."

"Ha. Good luck she's passed out." Wildwing laughed.

Mallory raised her eyebrow at that. _"How would he know?"_ In the pit of her stomach a sinking feeling settled in.

"Well Tanya sleeps like a rock trust me, she's not waking up anytime soon but you can borrow one of mine."

Mallory's heart hurt hearing that. _"He knows that she's a heavy sleeper? That must mean..."_

"Come on. Let's grab you a night shirt so you can get to bed. We have practice in the morning anyway."

" _Maybe it's just me looking too deeply into this."_ Mallory hoped that's what it was. She followed him silently, looking at the ground as she walked.

Wildwing looked back over his shoulder to see Mallory, looking at the ground. "Uh you okay Mal?"

She looked up at him, refusing to show any emotion. "I'm fine. Why?"

"Just wanted to make sure... I'm sorry about Nosedive. He can be a real idiot sometimes." Wildwing figured that this is what was bothering her.

"No it's fine. I'm over it. Besides he is taking me shopping tomorrow." Mallory joked, making Wildwing chuckle.

They arrived at his room, Wildwing opened the door and walked right on in. "Make yourself at home." He called over his shoulder. Mallory just waited by the door, a little uncomfortable at being in his room when she didn't know where he stood with Tanya. She wanted to ask so many questions to try and get an idea of if they were together but kept her mouth shut. It wasn't her business anyway, besides she was here for a mission and that meant focusing on that.

"Here." His hand was in front of her suddenly, she looked up at his smiling face and was surprised to see he had taken the mask off. His rich brown eyes contrasted greatly with his feathers. "Oh thanks. You should have it back by tomorrow... I hope." She added on, not sure how shopping with Nosedive would go.

"Don't worry about it. I won't miss this shirt. Keep it as long as you need it."

He really was too nice for his own good. She smiled and nodded. "Thanks again." Taking his shirt, she left his room. She looked back to see he was facing away from her, not even turning to wave bye to her as she left. _"I wish he would notice me the way I notice him."_ She thought to herself as she went on her way.

Mallory sat in her room, looking at the shirt she was given to sleep in. Sighing she quickly undressed and got ready for bed. Slipping his large shirt on she laughed at how big it was on her. He really was a lot bigger than her.

Jumping in her bed she snuggled in, ready to pass out when the scent of cologne hit her nose. It was nice.

She breathed in deeply and realized it was Wildwing's shirt that smelled so good. Bringing it up to her nose she sniffed it again. She had never noticed that Wildwing used cologne, it was wonderful, she wanted this scent to be everywhere in her bed room. Sighing she shook off the thought and closed her eyes. Falling asleep almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Walking to the kitchen the next morning found Mallory in a pretty good mood. She had been thinking about the shirt Wildwing gave her to sleep in and thought that maybe he really did see her like she saw him. At the time she hadn't realized what shirt he had given her but she was a little surprised when she looked in the mirror this morning to see the '00' on her shoulders and back. He had given her one of his jersey's to sleep in!

It was kind of a tender thing to do, so here she was thinking that maybe he did care for her and that she was wrong about Tanya and him. Walking silently to the kitchen, she smiled as she thought about the possibility of a relationship with Wildwing. However, that thought was stopped the moment she was about to enter the kitchen to find Tanya standing far too close to Wildwing. Mallory froze mid step; they had not seen her yet so she hid around a corner. Tanya had leaned up to give Wildwing a kiss on the cheek and he hadn't done anything to stop her, instead he smiled at her and followed her out of the kitchen and to another part of the pond. Mallory felt her heart break, she stayed where she was a moment looking down at the ground.

Looking back the way they went she stood and quietly followed wanting to make sure she wasn't jumping to conclusions. She turned a corner again only this time Tanya and Wildwing were kissing on the mouth. That confirmed it.

Then the next thing she knew, she was running to the garage. Thankfully nobody was there, she didn't want anybody to see her right now. It wasn't that she was mad, more that she was heartbroken and needed to get away because she would lash out in anger on the first person that approached her like this. It was a defense thing. She knew it but she couldn't help it. So she needed to run away for the day. Even though they had practice this morning she just wanted to run away. She couldn't face them. But where would she go that she could get away without seeming too suspicious. "Doug." She said to herself, remembering her General friend in Sunnyville. Pulling out her com she called Doug MacLaen.

"Hello?"

"Hi Doug. It's Mallory. I hope I'm not disturbing you too early."

"No not at all. Actually I was just thinking about you. I have a friend over that is back from his tour. You wouldn't by any chance be coming into town would you."

"I'll actually be passing through soon. I was hoping that I could stop by." Wind whipped at her face as she drove the bike at unsafe speeds.

"Of course! I know Jim would love to meet you."

"Great I'll be there in the hour." She hung up her com happy that she was able to find somewhere else to go and enjoy someone's company that wasn't one of her teammates. Just as she had hung up she heard her com starting beep, announcing an incoming call. Looking at it beeping she instinctively knew that it was probably Wildwing calling to find out where she was since everyone should be gathering for practice. Dammit she didn't even want to see his face. Let alone explain to him why she was leaving without an explanation but if she didn't answer he would try to track her. Thinking fast she pulled her bike to the side of the road and disabled the tracking. She would just claim later that her com had been busted. Whatever she was ready to take whatever punishment he wanted to dish out for her skipping practice.

Hopping back on her bike she was on the road again and made it to Doug's house within the hour, thanks to driving at incredibly fast speeds. In the back of her mind she was worried that Wildwing would find some way to track her and come looking but brushed it off as paranoia. The only tracking devices that they used where in the coms and she had deactivated hers, so there was no way they could find her.

Walking up to the front door, Mallory knocked and didn't even have to wait thirty seconds before Doug had answered the door and invited Mallory in.

"Mallory please come in. I'd like you to meet Jim Holst. Jim this is Mallory McMallard." Jim was a very handsome blond haired human with striking ice blue eyes. He stood a foot taller than Mallory and had very wide shoulders. He was built like a solider.

"Pleasure to meet you Mallory. I've heard a lot about you." He extended his hand and Mallory took it in hers to shake.

"Pleasure is all mine." Mallory smiled, happy that she had done what she wanted and ran away for the day. Normally she wouldn't have done this and she tended to be the strictest when it came to rules but she needed this. Her chest still hurt.

The day went by quickly. All three shared their war stories and laughed about the absurd things people do to entertain themselves when they had down time in the military. Mallory looked at her com and found that it was already 5pm. "Oh wow is that really the time?" Doug and Jim looked to the clock on the wall. Mallory had been there since noon.

"Oh really? I didn't realize. I think I've kept you two long enough."

"I didn't even realize so much time had gone by." Jim said, standing up. "General MacLean, always a pleasure sir. Thanks for having me." He turned to Mallory now and smiled handsomely at her. "Miss McMallard it's been a real joy meeting you. Can I walk you to your car?"

"Call me Mallory and yes I would like that." Mallory smiled. Doug gave a knowing smirk seeing the look pass between the two. He knew these two would hit it off but he didn't think that they would hit it off that well. None the less, a successful night.

"General, thank you for having me as well. Especially since it was kind of a random visit." Mallory turned to him with a friendly smile on her face. Doug reminded her of her father, he was also a general back on Puckworld.

"Of course! Please feel free to stop by again both of you. I enjoyed your company."

Mallory and Jim wished Doug a goodnight and made their way to her bike parked down the street. "Need a ride?" Mallory asked, handing him a helmet.

"Actually that would be great." Jim smiled, taking it and placing it on his head, then got on the behind Mallory. He carefully placed his hands around her waist, making sure to be respectful. She liked this guy more and more. She couldn't help but notice how big his hands were and that they almost wrapped around her waist.

Following his directions, she drove him back to his apartment when she saw something that made her look quickly to the right, a silver robot was charging at them with incredible speed. "What the hell is that?" Jimmy called from the back of the bike seeing the robot as well.

"It's one of Dr. Pertorious's robots!" She called over her shoulder.

"That nut that captured three of you and tried to experiment on you? But I thought he was in jail?" Mallory raised her eyebrow at his knowledge. Doug really had been talking about her.

"That's the one and he **is** in jail. These must have been missed by the police and have been waiting for one of us to come by again."

"Well don't look now but more are coming." Jim pointed behind them.

"How many more?" She looked again to her horror and saw at least thirty robots heading for them.

"Too many."

Mallory hit her chest and changed over to her battle gear.

"WOW! That was awesome! ... Nice suit." He smirked in a flirtatious fashion. Mallory couldn't help but laugh. All joking stopped though when the robots' hands changed to reveal built in canon's in their arms and started firing on them while still giving chase.

"That's new!" Mallory exclaimed. "Jim! Use my puck canon on those things." Jimmy being a solider could already guess what the puck canon was. Grabbing the gun off of her back he examined it with trained eyes then turned off the safety and started to shoot the robots down. It took at least three pucks a robot whereas before it only took one. What was going on? The new armor and arm canons were very familiar to her. It reminded her of someone else that did this kind of work... someone from Puckworld. Someone she had hoped to never see again.

"I hope this thing carries a lot of ammo." Jim said as he kept shooting, interrupting Mallory's thoughts. She opened her com, planning on calling her team when one of the robots got a good shot off at her back tire. Mallory cursed as the bike started losing control.

"We're gonna crash! Prepare yourself!" She called over her shoulder. Jim wrapped his hands around her waist and the bike slide to its side. Mallory and Jim tumbled off the bike and skidded over the concert road. Mallory's feathers had saved her from her skin being too badly cut up but still she took a bit of a beating. Her right check was cut and bleed and she had hurt her mouth in the fall, making some blood drip from the corner of her beak. She was hurting but she got on her feet like a solider and started firing on the quickly approaching robots.

Jim got up as well, his skin had been protected from the road by his leather jacket. Grabbing the puck canon, he started shooting again while Mallory did the same with her puck gun. The robots were going down but not quick enough.

"Damn where did these guys come from!" Mallory growled.

"I don't know but I've been back here for two months and haven't seen anything like this until you got here. They must still be programmed to go after you should you come to the town again."

"Or someone is trying to finish baldy's work. We've gotta find out who is behind this!" Mallory said.

"Agreed! Let's fall back. We'll be over whelmed here." Jim called out.

"Affirmative!" Mallory and Jim ran for an advantage point.

"Don't your friends usually help with this kind of thing."

"Yeah only..." She lifted her broken com to show Jim. "I have no way to contact them."

"We're on our own then."

"Yep." Mallory fired and destroyed two more robots. "I hate machines." She hissed.

"You and me both babe." Jim smiled, shooting another robot down. "We've still got at least twenty-three left, beautiful. This isn't looking good." Mallory nodded, thinking about a way to destroy these things. Then she had gotten an idea.

"We need to lead these things back to Pap's Garage! There was a giant magnet in there that we could use."

"Affirmative. Follow me. I know a short cut to it." Jim took the lead and Mallory followed. Shooting at any robots that got too close. "It's just over here!" They rounded the bend to find the weathered building that the mad doctor had been working out of.

"Perfect! Let's get in there!" Mallory aimed her gun and blasted the doors open with an explosive puck. Once in Mallory ran right to the magnet. "Keep them at bay while I turn this thing on."

"Roger!" Jim crouched and fired at the robots. Trying to pick more off before they overran them. "Hurry Mallory!"

"I'm working on it! I'm not Tanya." She had said it without even thinking about it and it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Ignoring her personal problems, she finally got the magnet working. "Got it! Get behind me!" She called using the machine to aim the giant magnet. Once Jim was behind her she turned it on. The robots stopped in their tracks, trying to dig their feet into the ground to stop them from being pulled to the magnet but it was no use. All of the remaining robots were glued to the magnet and held captive by it. All of their heads started twitching and sending out sparks of electricity. Their brightly lit up eyes eventually died out and the remaining robots went limp. Mallory turned off the magnet and inspected the pile that fell to the floor with a loud crash.

"How did you know that would break them?" Jim asked.

"Well their robots, so it makes sense that they would have a hard-drive in their brain. A strong enough magnet can destroy and wipe hard-drives. Their air heads now." Mallory holstered her puck gun and held her hand out for the puck canon, which he happily handed to her.

"That was pretty awesome of you Mallory." Jimmy smiled.

"Well thanks. You were pretty awesome back there yourself."

Jimmy laughed and rubbed the back of his neck with her praise. He smirked sexily at her and talked about what a good pair they made. Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of police sirens.

Two hours later, a new tire and the promise to give Jim a call sometime, Mallory was finally almost back at the pond. She couldn't help but wonder about the changes in the robots, they were more lethal now and had better armor. Not the mention the way they moved had changed. They went from normal human speeds to being able to kept up with a motorcycle. She sighed to herself. "But there was no evidence found of where they came from or who made these changes to them!" With everything that had happened today she had completely forgotten about Wildwing and Tanya. It was just what she needed. Now if she could only get in without anyone seeing her.

She pulled into the garage to find the whole team there all geared up. No chance of getting in without anyone seeing her. Wildwing turned around looking furious but his expression changed when he saw the condition she was in. "Mallory! Where have you been and what happened to you?!" She could still hear the annoyance in his voice.

She sighed, all her frustration and sadness coming back to her at hearing his voice. "Got in a fight." She mumbled, walking to medical to get some pain meds. When walking past him, Wildwing's hand shot out and grabbed Mallory's arm, hurting and surprising her at the same time.

"Why didn't you call us?!" He looked down at her angry and concerned.

"I tried but I broke my com when I fell off my bike." She showed him her com. "Look... I was just making a quick run and ran into trouble, it happens with us. I didn't have any control over how it happened and how Pertorious's robots were still-"

"Dr. Pertorious!" Wildwing exclaimed. Mallory resisted the urge to sigh. It was going to be a long night and she just wanted to go to bed.

The walk down to the infirmary was tense. Once there, Tanya had patched her up and made idol conversation but Mallory's answers were short at best. She didn't want to talk to Tanya. Nor did she want to talk to Wildwing but he was there trying to pry more answers out of her.

"Can we seriously do this another time. I'm exhausted." Mallory sighed.

Wildwing stared at her with narrowed eyes but Mallory refused to break eye contact as she glared right back at him. Tanya was worried a fight might actually break out with how confrontational Mallory was being, so she moved in front of Mallory to break up the possible fight. "I-I need t-to check your eyes." She stuttered. Mallory looked at her and let the blond duck check her eyes with a flashlight.

"Okay you l-look pretty good, just take it easy if you start to feel dizzy an-and let me know if you do." Tanya said putting away her equipment.

" _Fat chance."_ She thought. "Yeah sure." Mallory said, just wanting to leave. She realized that they didn't understand what had caused the sudden change in her attitude towards them but she didn't care. Hopping off the table she made her exit, leaving behind two confused teammates. Walking down the hall she was happy to get away from the two ducks she didn't particularly wanna talk too. However, this was too good to be true since Wildwing's voice suddenly rang down the hall after her.

"Mallory wait!" She stopped out of habit and sighed to herself. She really didn't want to talk to him. Turning to him she tried her best to keep her face as neutral as possible.

"We need to talk. Mainly about Pertorious's robots but also about how you just up and disappeared when we had a practice."

"I thought we said we would talk about this later."

"No you said that. I didn't agree to it." He crossed his arms in front of himself, unwilling to move. "Where did you go?"

"Out."

Wildwing walked up to her and got right in her face. Mallory could feel his chest against hers as he towered over her but she refused to back down. She would not be intimidated. "Fine. You want to be this way your benched for a week."

But she hadn't been prepared for that. "What?! Are you serious!?" She yelled at him.

"Dead serious." He walked pasted a stunned silent Mallory. He didn't want to do that but she was out of control and he needed to bring her back under control. He was her captain, she needed to listen to him. He was only concerned for her safety and clearly he needed to be if she was being chased by robots that they thought they had shut down a couple of months ago. He went around the corner and waited to see what Mallory would do. She just stood there for a moment then turned towards the way he went and headed to her bedroom. Ducking into a hall closet he watched her pass by then when she turned another corner he used his mask to follow her. She was hiding something and he wanted to know what.

Mallory couldn't believe what had just happened. Did he really suspend her to the benches for not wanting to talk right now? True she could have been more diplomatic about it but she still was going to talk to him about it, she just wanted to wait until later when she had time to cool down. She went the way he had disappeared towards her room when she turned another corner and bumped into Duke.

"Sorry Sweetheart. I didn't see ya there." He smiled at her.

Mallory knew Duke, she knew he had most likely heard the argument between her and Wildwing. This was his way of making sure she was okay. "You can drop the act Duke. I know you. I know you heard the argument between Wildwing and I." She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

Duke stared at her for a moment then smirked. "Nothin' gets passed you eh Sweetheart. How did ya know?"

"I didn't. You just told me. But it can't be coincidence that you happened to run into me in the hall down over by my room. You hardly ever come down this way and the skills you developed as a thief would have alerted you to me coming. So what do you want?"

"Huh... Caught red handed. I gotta give it ta ya Mal. Your sharp."

"Thanks." She said in a monotone voice then crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay and ask about what happened."

Mallory sighed. "I really am tired." She looked at the ground.

"I know but I was worried and so was Wildwing. It's why he reacted so strongly. Please Sweetheart, just tell me a little bit about what happened. Your all beat up." She was surprised by his gentle touch to her chin as he directed her gaze back at him.

"I... I suppose." She reluctantly agreed, her mouth hurting a little from him put a small amount of pressure on it.

Duke smiled a sincere smile at her, it was almost sweet. Duke was very attractive when he smiled like that, she noted in the back of her mind and briefly she wondered what he would have looked like before he lost his eye. "So tell me what your comfortable talking about." He finally let go of her chin very gently, knowing that she was hurting there.

"I was going to see a friend... Doug MacLean the six star General."

"Ah yes. You hit it off with him."

"Yeah well he had a friend over that he wanted me to meet, so I did. He was a nice guy named Jim Holst. He just came back from a tour and we hit it off. I offered him a ride home, which he took and on the way to his apartment, those robots attacked."

"Petorious's robots."

"Yeah. Only they were different Duke. They were... upgraded. It took three shoots to take one down and in their arms were laser canons. Duke there was some seriously advanced tech on those robots."

"Too advice for humans to make?"

"Definitely. What bothered me about it was that it was similar to stuff I've seen before... stuff back on Puckworld."

"Wow, wow. You're not saying you think another Puckworldian is here, are you?"

"I don't know yet but if it's who I think it is then it's not good." Mallory seemed lost in thought.

"Mal talk to me. What else are you not saying? How did you know this person and where have you seen this technology before? Are you sure it couldn't be something that Dragaunus cooked up?"

"Positive. Lizard lips doesn't make new more advanced robots. Maybe bigger and better armored but not advanced like this. This is a whole other level we're talking about."

Duke crossed his arms and looked down in thought. "Well it's definitely something worth checking into."

"And I intend to. Since I've been benched this just leaves me with more time to follow up on it. I'm going to get to the bottom of this Duke."

"Not by yourself hopefully."

"Of course not." She smiled

"Oh good." Duke was relieved to hear that.

"Jim was incredibly helpful with fighting those things off. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now. We worked really well together as a team." Mallory smiled and put her hands on her hips but then looked thoughtful again.

"Jim? The human? You seem awfully found of him for spending only a day with him? Are you interested in him?" Duke was no longer relieved.

"Like you said Duke. I've only known him for a day but still... he was fun and kinda cute for a human."

"Hum." Duke didn't seem pleased by this but chose to kept his beak shut about how humans weren't compatible with their kind. "Mal, please don't go out there by yourself. I'm begging ya sweetheart. We don't want anything ta happen ta ya and taking a human with you …. well... it's not that same as having a duck with you. They are helpful but they're not like us Mal. They can barely keep up with us in the rink. We are very different. Just remember that. Okay?" He told her gently, not trying to anger her and set off her famous temper.

She understood what he was saying. Don't get attached to a human. Don't date one cause we're too different. She got it but right now she just didn't care. "Yeah... I suppose your right." She would placate to him for now.

"Why did you leave without telling anyone?"

"Because I don't need a baby sitter Duke." Her eyes narrowed at him, letting him know that he was touching something sensitive. Duke put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay sweetheart I get it. I'll back off on that topic but you didn't answer one of my questions. Where do you see this tech and who made it?"

"Look Duke, I really am tired. Can we talk later?" Mallory pushed his question off. Realizing that she wasn't going to tell him anymore he gave in.

"Sure Sweetheart. I just wanted to know that you were okay and don't worry. We'll figure this out." He placed his hand on her shoulder. She nodded and went to the elevator that lead to the rink, not looking back as Duke watched her go.

Duke waited until she was out of sight before speaking. "You can come out now." He didn't need to look back as the red eyes of Wildwing's mask came out of the shadows. "I know you heard everything. So what do you want to do?"

Wildwing sighed stepping up next to Duke, staring in the direction that Mallory had gone. "Right now. Investigate what's going on in Sunnyville. As for Mallory... I don't know yet."

"What are you going to do if she starts dating a human? I don't mean to sound closed minded or anything but we only have two females and four guys. The two females should be with ducks only, not humans. They have plenty of their own kind running around. They don't need our females. Not to mention it's kind of weird."

"Agreed but stopping Mallory from doing something she wants is almost impossible without using force. Something I don't want to do. I don't want to make her hate me, uh I mean, us." Wildwing quickly corrected himself. Duke pretended not to notice.

"Me neither but I think everyone on the team would agree with this one." Duke crossed his arms. He didn't have anything against humans but since they were in the situation that they were in, they needed to be more defensive of their teammates. Had the humans been in their situation then they probably would think the same way.

"Wildwing... Did something happen between you and Mallory that is making her more... hostile towards you?"

"No. Not that I know of." Wildwing said rubbing the back of his head in frustration.

…..

Mallory was up on the ice smacking pucks into the net, imagining Wildwing to be the one getting hit with her slap shot and not the empty net.

"I thought you were tired." She wanted to throw her stick at him. Didn't he get it that she didn't want to be bothered. Everyone else would go out of their way to avoid her like this but him no... he had to seek her out. What was his deal?! Didn't he just bench her for a week? What could he possibly want now!?

She didn't turn to him just keep shooting pucks more viciously into the net. She heard his skates on the ice coming towards her. Really?

Turning she found him already next to her. "Your shooting those awfully hard. Wouldn't happen to be imagining it was me now would you?" He asked with a slight smirk.

"You want it sugar coated?" She asked sarcastically, not hiding the fact that she was angry at him. She turned away from him and smacked another puck into the net.

He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her to him. She complied but smack his hand off of her. She had never done that to him before and he was hurt but refused to show it on his face. "Mallory I don't want to bench you for a week. Please just tell me what happened. That's all I want to know."

"I was attacked by thirty upgraded robots with sophisticated tech on them that could have only come from Puckworld. These were the ones that Petorious made but now I'm not sure who their working for." She turned around and took another shoot at the net.

" _She's not telling me everything. She doesn't trust me and it hurts. What did I do to break that trust?"_ He thought."How do you know this tech came from Puckworld? Was it someone that you knew?"

"Yeah a long time ago." She took another shoot, seeming more subdued now, as if melancholy took hold of her.

"Will you tell me how you know this person?"

She stood up straight and turned back to him. "There are some things in my past that I want to stay buried... forever."

"Mallory if this is the same person and they are here then these kinds of secrets have a way of coming out, whether you want them too or not but it's up to you to decide how you want them revealed." He brought his hand up to touch her again but thought better of it and placed it back at his side. Mallory realized then that she had hurt him when she smacked his hand off and wished she could take it back but there was no point. She needed to distance herself from him anyway, he was with Tanya. She looked away from him and sighed.

"If it comes to that then it does but for right now... I can't talk about it. I'm not ready to talk about it and I don't know if I ever will be but I'm asking you as... a **friend** to understand and give me time." She looked up at him to see his face was completely stoic.

"Okay. You're not benched."

"Maybe I should be... you know take time to myself to think things through." Mallory suggested, wanting to go investigate what happened back in Sunnyville.

Unfortunately for her Wildwing knew this is want she wanted but he wasn't going to let her do that. It was too dangerous. Like she said to Duke if this **Jim** hadn't been there she would have been captured or worse. That's why Wildwing used the buddy system, if one got in trouble the other could get help.

"Mallory, this team needs you. We don't have any replacements for on the ice." He silenced her protests with her guilt over leaving them on their own. She was very committed to the team; it was something she took very seriously. So if she ran away this morning to skip practice something must have really been bothering her, he just wished he knew what it was. If he tried to bring it up she would go right back to biting his head off, he knew her well enough to know that. He knew a lot about her but apparently there are things in her past that haunt her. Things he wanted to know and understand. _"What happened to you Mallory? Did someone hurt you?"_ He thought as he watched her nod her head to him. She couldn't turn the team away. "If and whenever you're ready to talk about this person from your past in a little more detail, then know that I'll be waiting. Okay?"

She nodded again this time seeming like she was in a daze. He smiled handsomely at her and skated off of the ice, leaving her to herself with all of the anger and resentment drained from her. Now she was just tired and couldn't get the image of his smiling face out of her head. "Damn."

…..


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Mallory turned off the shower and stepped out onto the cold metal floor in her bathroom. Wrapping a towel around herself she brushed her hair out and looked at herself in the mirror. Her natural vibrant red hair was pushed back out of her face, allowing her features to be better seen. She sighed seeing herself, she had a bruise forming on her right cheek from the fall she had taken when she tumbled off the bike with Jim. Pressing her fingers to it she hissed in surprise at how sensitive it was. "One would think that I busted a cheek bone." She mumbled, drying her hair off with a towel and throwing it to the side.

Going out to her bed room she opened her drawer to grab her long night shirt when she found Wildwing's shirt all folded up in her drawer. She froze seeing it there, acting as if it had accosted her. "Why do I still have this?" She asked herself picking the shirt up she looked at it and ran her fingers over the 00. Moving the shirt around had release its scent and Mallory could smell her perfume around the collar as it delicately tickled her nose. Without thinking she leaned in to smell it, still able to smell his scent on it even though it was more muted now. When he had first given it to her she spent the night breathing in his scent from it. Pressing it over her nose, she breathed in deeply and the smell lulled her to sleep. Seeing it now only brought back the unpleasant memories of when she saw Tanya and Wildwing kissing in the hall. She threw the shirt down like it was diseased and glared at it. Grabbing her new night shirt from her drawer she threw it on over her head and let it slip down to cover her upper thighs. Taking Wildwing's shirt she threw it into a corner and watched it crumple helplessly to the floor. It's arms reaching out before it in her direction. She scowled at its neediness. _"What am I thinking! It's a shirt! You losing it girl!"_ She thought to herself as she placed her hand on her forehead.

Glaring down at it one more time she turned her beak up at it and walked away, leaving it in the corner. Climbing into bed she turned out the light to get some sleep.

…...

She had a lot of laundry to do today. She had been avoiding it for as long as possible since the 'Nosedive setting her clothes on fire' incident. Putting some of her clothes in her basket, she was ready to walk out when the white jersey on the floor caught her eye. She stared at it a moment realizing that she should wash it and return it but part of her didn't want to. Shaking it off she stormed over and grabbed the jersey, tossing it unkindly into the basket in her other arm. The shirt flopped into the basket but went a little too far, wrapping its right arm around her left arm. Annoyed Mallory pulled it off and slapped it down into the laundry again, only for it to partially fall on her chest thanks to static. For no reason what so ever she panicked and dropped her laundry basket in an attempt to pry the statically charged shirt off of her, instead she ended up dropping the basket on her foot making her yelp in pain and completely forgetting to the shirt stuck to her chest.

She hopped around on her one foot while holding the other that was in pain, the shirt still clinging to her chest. "That's it you!" She grabbed it off of her and threw it across the room again towards her door, which unfortunately at that moment Wildwing had to choose then to walk in. " _Why did he come in unannounced?"_ The thought was quickly forgotten as she watched in horror as the shirt smacked him in the face and he stumbled back in surprise with his arms out, using them to keep his balance. Mallory froze with her mouth agape at what she had just done. She had thrown her leaders shirt right back in his face… Oops. Wildwing pulled the shirt back, the static making his hair and feathers stick up funny. "Oh hu... Wildwing... I didn't see you there."

"Jeeze Mal. I didn't think you were still angry at me." He joked, hold his shirt up and gesturing to it.

"I'm... It was bad timing that's all! You just happened to walk in while I was fighting with it." She crossed her arms and looked away. Not wanting him to see the blush forming on her cheeks.

"You even fight with clothing? You do have at temper." He smirked, throwing his shirt over his shoulder.

"Very funny." She looked back at him now that she wasn't blushing anymore. "Why did you stop by?" His face suddenly turned very serious as he stared at her. "What?" She wondered what his problem was.

"Mallory your face!" He exclaimed, his eyes zeroing in on her cheek.

Realizing what he was looking at she unconsciously covered her cheek. "Oh yeah it formed overnight. I didn't realize it at the time because of adrenaline but I hit my face falling off the bike."

"When did you fall off your bike?"

"When one of the robots shot out my back tire." She said, shrugging her shoulders and sounding nonchalant about it.

Wildwing didn't seem pleased. _"Well he hasn't been pleased with me a lot these days."_ She thought as she picked up her laundry basket. Walking up to him she held her hand out to him, which he only raised his eyebrow at. "Uh do you want me to wash that or not?"

He stared at her a moment in confusion but then realization dawned in his eyes and he put his hand over it, as if to stop her from taking it. "Oh no! That's fine I'll do it. I need to do some laundry anyways." Mallory just shrugged and nodded.

"Okay well if you don't need anything?"

"No. I just wanted to check and make sure that you were okay. Does it hurt? Is there anything else that's hurting that I should know about?"

"No a little sore here and there but besides that nothing." He seemed to accept her answer as they walked out into the hall together.

"Alright let me know if you have anything you need to tell me." With that he disappeared down the hall. Mallory watched him go for a moment, seeing that he was heading back to his room with his shirt draped over his shoulder. Its arms hung over his broad shoulders and strong back, swaying back and forth like it was waving. "Girl you really need to get away from here more often." She said to herself as she made her way down to the laundry room.

She pondered his strong reaction to her taking his shirt to wash it. She was just trying to be nice but he seemed to really not want her to take his shirt back. Shrugging it off she walked into the laundry room to find Tanya had just finished a load in one of the dryers. _"Ah ha! That's it! He didn't want Tanya to see that I had borrowed one of his shirts!"_ She walked in acting like nothing was wrong, looking over at Tanya to see what she was doing. She seemed to be lost in her own world, actually she looked kind of sad. She raised an eyebrow at her in concern, despite the fact that she was a little angry at her she didn't want to see her friend sad.

"Tanya are you okay?" She questioned, though it wasn't gentle it was still thoughtful. Tanya jumped and turned to her in surprise.

"Oh! Mallory! I didn't see you there." She blushed embarrassed about something.

"Yeah I just walked in. You seemed lost in thought...Are you okay? You look like someone kicked your puppy." She asked.

"I'm... fine." Tanya paused mid answer.

"Okay well if you insist." Mallory started her load, pecking over her shoulder at Tanya every once in a while wondering what had gotten into her. _"Besides Wildwing.",_ whispered a little voice in the back of her head. She shuddered and angrily stuffed her clothes in, slamming the washer door closed harder then she wanted.

Tanya looked back at Mallory with a raised eyebrow. "Are _**you**_ okay?"

"Oh yeah... PMS.. ya know." Mallory grabbed her now empty basket off the floor and started heading out. "I'll see you later." She paused before walking out and turned back to Tanya. "Nosedive isn't going to be doing his clothes today is he?" Tanya actually laughed at that.

"Nope he has been banned from th-the laundry room per Wildwing's orders." Tanya laughed.

"Oh good!" She said walking out and going down the hall back towards her room. "At least I don't have to worry about that." She mumbled angrily to herself.

…..

Later that day, practice was going well. Mallory hadn't been able to get any shots past Wildwing today which was frustrating her but at least she got to take out her frustrations by shooting rockets at him. She had to admit that she wasn't completely in the game, her mind kept wandering back to the robots and the meaning behind them. More than anything she wanted to go and investigate Sunnyville. Come tomorrow she would have some free time to do just that.

"Here it comes Bro!" Nosedive shouted suddenly grabbing her attention. He pulled his stick back and brought it forward with speed that no one else on the team could match. Slapping the puck hard and sending it flying at Wildwing. Wildwing was prepared as the most likely bruising puck was launched at him. He moved in to grab it but pulled back last second when the puck bounced off the metal pole and shot off away from the goal.

It was like slow motion for Mallory when she saw the puck bounce off the pole and rocket in her direction. She wasn't going to be able to avoid it, matter of fact she wasn't going to be able to do anything as the thing came right at her face. Her plastic visor took the impact and protected her face but the power behind the puck shattered her visor like glass. Mallory closed her eyes just before the puck hit protecting them from the hard plastic. The hit pushed her backwards but she was able to stay on her feet.

"Mal!" Nosedive cried out worried that he had unintentionally blinded his teammate. Duke being the closest to her was at her side quickly. Mallory went to bring her hands to her face but Duke stopped her. "Careful Sweetheart. Let us check your face." He told her gently keeping her hands down and out of the way.

Wildwing was by her in an instant. "Don't open your eyes Mallory!" He ordered, taking her helmet off.

" _How is it that everything is going so wrong for me these days? Someone out there must hate me."_ She thought.

She felt fingertips gently touch her face and angle her head up a little. "Don't move." Wildwing's voice was right in front of her. She now knew that it was his fingers which picked the small shards of sharp plastic off of her. He was incredibly gentle as he picked the broken plastic off of her face, piece by piece. His fingertips carefully brushed through her feathers and over her skin, combing them over her face to find if he missed any plastic. His touch tickled and was incredibly comforting at the same time. She wanted to melt into him but reminded herself that this was inappropriate. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. Her minty breath brushed across Wildwing's face. He stopped brushing his fingers over her soft cheeks and checked to see that he got all of it.

"Oh man Mal! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Nosedive felt horrible, he and his teammates had been horrified to see the puck destroy Mallory's visor and spray the sharp glass like plastic all over her face. His brother's face was one of panic as he rushed over to Mallory to make sure she was okay.

"I'm okay Nosedive." She smirked. "Just surprised. Wasn't expecting that."

Wildwing was finally finished after his fingertips gently brushed over her eyelids and his thumb ran over her lashes. One would think it was an intimate moment between lovers if not for the look of concentration on Wildwing's face. "Do you feel anything in your eyes?" Wildwing asked, turning her head to get different views of her face.

"No. I think I'm good." Mallory waited for him to give her the okay to open her eyes. She felt his fingers finally leave her face and instantly missed his touch but ruthlessly shoved the emotion down. "Okay your good." She opened her eyes and found him still close to her face, she moved away from him a little. He no one seemed to notice this and he went to grabbed his dropped gloves off of the ice. When he stood back up the buzzer went off announcing practice was over. "Alright team practice is over. Mallory, do you want Tanya to take a look at you?"

"I'll be fine." She said, trying to be casual even if she did feel a little awkward about what just happened. Wildwing nodded and lead the team off of the ice and to the locker rooms. Tanya hung back, looking back and forth between Mallory and Wildwing suspiciously.

…..

She wanted to groan at the feel of the hot water over her still bruised skin and sore muscles. She tilted her head back and let the water run over her face, getting all of the sweat off of it. She finished cleaning her body, running her hands over her flat but toned stomach to wash the soap suds off. Enjoying the feel of the solid but feminine muscle under her fingertips.

After hopping out of the shower, Mallory dried off and checked the disappearing bruise on the side of her face from her fall on her bike with Jim. It wouldn't even be visible in a day thanks to her feathers. Once she was done she brushed her teeth and threw her clothes on for bed, once again donning her long night shirt that went down to her upper thighs. Slipping into bed she tried not to think about what happened at practice that day and how it felt to have Wildwing caress her face but an hour passed and she still couldn't find sleep.

She rolled over remembering how gentle he was. To her mounting frustration, her mind wondered to thoughts of if he would be a gentle or a rough lover. "Ugh!" Placing her hands over her eyes she groaned. _"What is wrong with me? Why can't I stop thinking about him? This is pathetic! I'm thinking maybe I need to get laid."_

"Maybe Jim could help me with that." She mumbled to herself, wondering now what it would be like to be with a human. The thought of any other human was completely unappealing but with him it wasn't. "Keep going like this and you won't fall asleep at all." She sighed to herself. Rolling over again she found troubled sleep.

…..

Late in the night the code to her door was punched in and someone quietly entered the room. They didn't make a sound as they moved. Coming up to her bed they stood over it staring down at her in longing. Their fingers carefully touched her hair, making sure not to wake her. The intense blue eyes studied her face, taking in her features that they had longed to see for what felt like years. The light-yellow feathers on the intruder's hand contrasted with the red of Mallory's hair. 

"Soon Mallory. Soon." His eyes seemed to glow an unnatural blue in the dark as he looked down at her. His other hand reached into his back pocket and pulled out some sort of needle, after prepping the needle he carefully pulled out a wash cloth and a bottle. Pouring the contents of the bottle on the wash cloth he, placed it over her nose and waited for a minute. Then moved it away and carefully set it down. He roughly ran his hands threw her hair and Mallory didn't stir, she was completely limp. Chloroform.

Grabbing the needle, he found of good spot on the back of her neck and injected a small device into her, digging it into her spin. Had she been awake, this would have been extremely painful but Mallory didn't even flinch. He cleaned up the blood and placed her head gently down on the bed. "Now I always know where to find you." He pressed his beak to hers in a possessive kiss and then slipped out of her room quickly and quietly. The devices he used to get in knocked out all of the security, making it seem like he was nothing but a ghost.

…..

She definitely wasn't on her game this morning. Practice was a painful process at best. She was sporting a massive headache but still did her job and ran the drills. Everyone played even when they were in pain. Nosedive had played a game with a broken finger, so a little headache and a sore neck wasn't going to stop her from doing her job.

The buzzer finally went off announcing the end of practice. Everyone piled into the locker rooms, removing their gear and placing it in their lockers. Mallory pulled her large jersey over her head took her shoulder and chest guards off, leaving her in an undershirt and her hockey pants. Her shoes were already sitting in the bottom of her locker. She used her towel to wipe the back of her neck off and draped it over her shoulder. Turning to Tanya she was surprised to find her across the room talking with Duke. They were to the side of the room, making small talk. Tanya had a big smile on her face and Duke was laughing about something. If she hadn't known better she would have thought Tanya and Duke were flirting with how close they were standing to each other. Turning back to her locker, she peaked at Wildwing out of the side of her eye to see him putting his gear away. Not even noticing that Tanya was very close with Duke. Then again that kind of thing probably wouldn't bother him.

Finishing what she was doing Mallory closed her locker and silently made her way towards the woman's showers. Nosedive had taken off his gear and under shirt, swinging it around above his head in victory. Grin just smiled at the young duck's enthusiasm. Wildwing laughed at his brother's energy. Tanya shook her head at him and Duke smirked. Wildwing looked over to see what Mallory was doing only to find her gone. Looking around the room he wondered when she had left. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back to being amused by Nosedive's antics.

…..

Once she was done with her shower, Tanya made her way down into the pond. She wanted to run some maintenance checks on Drake One. It had been acting a little slow as of late.

Sitting down at the computer she started going through the security footage only to find that there was a random blank spot in security footage all around the pond in the early hours of the morning. "That's odd." She mumbled typing away, trying to find anything that would give her an indication of what happened. Still she couldn't find anything. "I'm gonna have to tell Wildwing about this."

"Tell me about what?" She jumped hearing his voice.

"Oh uh, well there seems to be a thirty-minute gap in our security were everything went down while we were all asleep."

"What!? How? We've never had those issues before."

"Ya I know and it's nothing with the computer. It, uh could only be an outside force that caused security to go out. Possibly someone trying to hack our system over maybe an, uh ya know, EMP device but it would take a lot of time for technology to recover from an EMP device. So our system must have been hacked. That's all I could think of that would do this kind of thing." She shifted nervously in the chair.

"Think this has anything to do with those robots?" He crossed his arms, unhappy with how their security was compromised.

Tanya rubbed her beak in thought. "It could... If there as high tech as Mallory said, then it's d-definitely possible." 

Wildwing sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright. We need to do an upgrade on security. I want it to even be able to with stand EMPs."

"Oh wow. Even with everything that I could update the system with, it won't withstand an EMP device Wildwing. I can make it so that it takes longer to take down the system but it will g-go down."

He sighed hearing this. She couldn't be expected to do the impossible. "Whatever you can do Tanya. Work on that today. Tonight I'm gonna need your help investigating the area that Mallory was attacked."

"Oh wow. Okay. I'm gonna need coffee. It's gonna be a long day." She said, not particularly enthused with the work she had cut out for her today.

…..

Later that night. Mallory was getting ready for her night out with Jim. The bruise on her face was finally gone and she was looking good.

Mallory looked at her tight leather pants and white tank with sliver necklaces in the mirror. She smirked at how good she looked in black leather. It was a little shiny, making her butt look amazing. Her hair was pushed back out of her face and her makeup around her eyes was a shimmering light brown, which accentuated her eyes. Her feet were clad in black knee high boots that had a 3-inch heel and blended flawlessly with her pants, except for the silver buckles around the tops of the boots. Over her top she threw on a short black leather jacket to keep the chill in the air away. Her black leather finger-less gloves and purple nails completed the look. She looked awesome.

Everyone had some free time so she had made plans with Jim. She was going to meet him in Sunnyville to go to a movie and get away from the craziness that was Anaheim. She was excited. It wasn't a date just friends meeting and going to a movie. Jim was interested but he would be going back on tour in a couple months and by the time he got back she might be back on Puckworld. He was very understanding but made it known that he still intended to quote "flirt her pants off" and she was fine with that, as long as it didn't get to intimate. She was still trying to get over her unrequited feelings for Wildwing. Maybe if they were good enough together then she would consider dating but that was a big maybe.

Speaking of Wildwing, he and Tanya had gone off somewhere in the Migrator. She scuffed. "Like I could care less." She muttered to herself. Just as long as her leader didn't know where she was going. He had given her strict instructions to not go back to Sunnyville without someone with her. She was definitely breaking that rule tonight.

Nosedive and Grin we're out going to a movie in downtown Anaheim and Duke... actually she didn't know where Duke was. She hadn't seen him since practice which was that morning. Grabbing her purse, she smiled at herself in the mirror one last time before she left her room. Walking out of the pond to the front she went around the back to grab the black motorcycle that she bought so that she had another ride that wasn't so obvious. It allowed her to get around without being chased by fans or cameras. She had a black matching helmet in it that was big enough to fit her beak in it and cover who she was. She had it specially made to help her blend in and no one on the team knew about it. It also allowed her to get away without the team being able to track her. Her com's tracking once again had been turned off. Pulling the bike out of the back storage that nobody on the team used, she placed her helmet on and revived the engine. Smiling inside her helmet she played a sound on low so she could hear everything around herself. It was the perfect song for the mood she was in. Putting on "You Don't Own Me" sung by Grace. She took off towards Sunnyville to meet Jim.

…..

Her route out to Sunnyville was clear once she got out of the city, in no time she had arrived. To find Jim waiting for her outside the theater. He looked good, really good. She was actually tempted by him. He was wearing jeans with a black muscle shirt and brown leather jacket. The black shirt accentuated his define chest and stomach muscles. If he were a duck she would be all over him. "Humm maybe I should rethink this and just date him. If he looks this good." She thought as she parked her bike and put her helmet away under the sit in the bike. Walking up to him she smirked when he laid eyes on her. His jaw dropped as his eyes went from her feet up to her head.

"Wow." He said. Mallory laughed at his slacked jaw expression.

"You're not so bad yourself. Making me actually reconsider making this a date." She flirted.

"That's the idea beautiful." He walked up to her and offered his arm. Mallory chuckled and took it. Together they walked into the theater, not realizing that they had someone watching them.

…..

Duke had followed Mallory out of the Pond. She had no clue he was following her. To say he was surprise with how sexy she looked would be an understatement but once she started heading back to Sunnyville he knew exactly what she was doing or more to the point who she was going to see. That human Jim.

He was disappointed she was going out with a human when she knew how most of her teammates would feel about that. _"He he hence why she's doing in secret. Neve' knew she had it in her."_ He thought. He didn't know what Wildwing was going to do when he finds out but it was probably going to lead to another fight. Duke sighed to himself and opened his com only to find that Wildwing's and Tanya's signals were here in Sunnyville! "What! What are they doing here?" Knowing that Mallory wasn't going anywhere he drove over to where his two teammates were. When he found them he was surprised to see Wildwing scanning the area with the mask and Tanya scanning with her omitool. Wildwing caught sight of Duke and raised an eyebrow at him. "Duke? What are you doing here and alone?"

"I'm kinda not alone and I was gonna ask you guys the same thing." He walked up to Wildwing with his hands on his hips.

"Looking for clues about the robots that attacked Mallory. So far we haven't found anything." Wildwing seemed frustrated.

"Oh." Duke wanted to tell Wing that Mallory was on a date with a human and that's why he was here, because he had suspicions and followed her here but he wasn't sure how Wildwing would react. He hadn't been pleased with the thought of Mallory dating a human before when he spoke to him in the hall back at the pond.

Wildwing was standing with his arms crossed looking around himself and checking on Tanya's progress. "Anything Tanya?"

The blond shook her head. "No uh, nothing yet." She said in her nasally voice.

"Why are you here Duke? This didn't seem like a place you would come to in order to get away and who did you bring with you?" Wildwing asked out of curiosity.

"Uh well..."

…...

The movie was finally over and Mallory and Jim walked out arm in arm. Laughing about the some of the scenes in the movie that they just watched.

"Oh my god when he went over that cliff and fell into the picnic, oh man that was hilarious." Jim laughed.

Mallory chuckled at his laugh. It was a cute laugh for a guy to have. The more she hung out with him the more comfortable she was with the idea of dating him. "So shall I drive you home again? I don't plan on crashing this time." She giggled. _"Wait did I just giggle?"_

"He he. Thanks but I brought my own ride this time. However, you could join me back at my place?" He winked. Mallory laughed and shook her head no.

"Would love to Romeo but too soon. Besides we decided to kept it casual for now remember?" She smiled up at him as he looked down at her.

"Oh yeah... Why did I agree to that?" He looked to be in thought. Rubbing his stubble covered chin in thought.

"Because you're a gentlemen." She laughed.

He bounced his hand off of his forehead making the oh duh sign. "Ugh! Right! Being a gentlemen is so overrated." Mallory laughed again. "We'll I'll walk you to your bike." He offered his arm like a gentlemen and Mallory took it. They walked back to her bike making small talk along the way. With Jim conversation was just fluid, there were no awkward moments. Arriving at her bike Mallory stood in front of him. "I had a great time tonight."

Jim smirked. "Yeah I'm pretty good company. Let me know if you ever need it. I'm always available for you beautiful."

"Such a charmer."

"I told ya. I plan to charm the pants off of ya." His eyes trailed downwards. "Especially those pants."

Mallory laughed. "Alright you, I better go before the others start to wonder where I am." She reached out a gave him a hug which he was only too willing to receive. He wrapped he muscular arms around her waist and pressed her tighter to him. One hand resting dangerously close to her butt and the other around her waist. Mallory could feel every define muscle on his stomach and chest pressed into her front. She actually shivered at the feel of his body against her own. Pulling back from their embrace they bid each other goodnight as Mallory grabbed her helmet and hopped on her bike to drive away. Jim watched her go with a handsome smirk on his face, completely unaware of the several pairs of eyes that had watched the whole scene.

…...

As Duke predicted Wildwing had been unhappy to hear the news that Mallory was on a date with the human she had met a week prior. Especially when he had given her orders not to come to this area again where she had been attacked.

They waited outside the theater for Mallory and her date to come out and thirty minutes later she did. Wildwing's eyes widened to see the outfit she was wearing, she looked like sex on legs. The somewhat shiny leather pants showed off her perfect butt and clung to her toned legs. The way it hugged her left little to the imagination. Wildwing could only imagine what this would look like in the tabloids. Mallory dating a human, he didn't like it. In the pit of his stomach he felt jealously flare up at the sight of the human wrapping his arms around Mallory. His eyes narrowed at where the human's hands had been placed when hugging her, far too close to her butt for his taste. Finally, after what felt like an eternity they stopped hugging and Mallory drove off, the human was watching her go with a love sick expression.

"What is she thinking?" He asked himself.

"Well what's wrong with her d-dating a human?" Tanya stuttered.

"Sweetheart, it's just wrong okay. If we're stuck here, then Mallory really needs to stick to our own kind. The humans have plenty of others to pick from but **we** are limited." Duke supplied with his arms crossed.

"And if we don't ever get back we're going to need to pair off and frankly start making our own little families here." Wildwing said and Duke nodded. Tanya stared at them both with an upset expression. She looked down sadly and huffed realizing where this was going. It wasn't that she disagreed, in fact she did agree but she just knew what the pairing would be and that upset her.

They grabbed Duke's bike and drove back to the pond. Keeping a fair distance from Mallory so that she didn't get suspicious that she was being followed.

Tanya was quiet for the whole ride back and Wildwing knew why but frankly that wasn't his problem. She would get over it.

…..

When Mallory got back she parked her bike in the hidden storage and locked it up. She smiled as she walked back into the pond. Stretching and enjoying the cool air. She truly had an awesome night. Her week had gone from crap to great in seconds. Jim really was a fun guy. She giggled thinking about him and how flirtatious he was.

I was fairly late so she had to pull out her keys to unlock the front door. Once she was inside and the door was locked behind her she couldn't help but wonder what Wildwing had done for the night. "Damn stop thinking like that! Push him out of your head! He's with Tanya!" She took the elevator down and went to the kitchen to grab a water.

When she walked in she was accosted with the sight of Nosedive and Grin in a what could only be an ice cream explosion. It was everywhere.

"Do I even want to ask what happened?" Mallory said as she carefully walked in, not wanting to slip on the piles of melting frozen yogurt on the floor. She bent over to grab a drink from the fridge, her tight pants showing off her tight rear-end. Nosedive stared with a slacked jaw at Mallory's behind and how good she looked. Grin noticed but was evolved past sure things.

This was how Wildwing found them when he walked in. Mallory's enticing butt bent over and sticking out from the fridge, Nosedive staring at it with a dropped jaw and googly eyes while covered in ice cream, along with the rest of the kitchen, and Grin with his arms crossed also covered in ice cream. "What the heck is going on in here?" Wildwing's voice questioned in annoyance surprising all three occupants.

Mallory grabbed her water and closed the fridge behind her, leaning against it as she took a swig of her drink. "You tell me. I just got here."

Wildwing's eyes went to Nosedive who was twisting his fingers together in a nervous habit. "Nosedive... What. Happened?" Wildwing was annoyed. Couldn't this kid stay out of trouble for five seconds.

"Well we were just trying to make an ice cream smoothie but the lid on the blender wasn't on right and it went everywhere." He shrugged his shoulders not sure what his brother wanted him to do about a mistake. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. Wildwing sighed and carefully made his way into the kitchen, trying to get around without slipping. "You need to clean this up... tonight." He glared at his younger brother. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this, right now he wanted to just talk to Mallory and set her straight.

Duke and Tanya were at the door way to the kitchen not wanting to walk into the mess that both the younger brother and Grin had created. "Okay well Sweetheart why don't you and I leave Nosedive and Grin to it eh?" Duke put an arm around Tanya's shoulders and lead her away, who looked like she wanted to protest but gave in and followed him down the hall.

Wildwing watched them go and sighed, rubbing his temples. Silently thanking Duke for pulling Tanya out of the situation. She was starting to give him a headache anyways.

He turned to Mallory to see her making her way out of the kitchen. "Wait Mallory we need t-" His words were cut off as his foot slipped on a large clump of ice cream on the floor. "Wwwoooowww!" He went down sliding along the ground and right into Mallory's feet. She was unable to avoid him since it all happened so fast. His feet hit hers and she fell forward on top of him, her hand hit a discarded spoon that fell to the floor, tossing the ice cream in it, up in the air over them and ended up landing right in Wildwing's face.

Both ducks lay on the floor tangled up and confused, Wildwing had thrown his arms around Mallory's waist to keep her safe in the fall. She wanted to blush at where she felt his hands. One was on her waist in the center of her back while the other went right over her butt. He didn't seem to realize where his hands were but she did and she felt a flush spread over her cheeks.

Mallory had been able to avoid most of the ice cream except for what was on her hands and legs. Leaning up her went to get up and untangle herself from him only to slip and land right back on his chest. Wildwing grunted at Mallory's body being pressed into him once again, the impact of her falling back on him, knocking the air out of him a little. Mallory groaned, her leather pants had ice cream all over them, this was going to suck to wash off. "Wildwing are you okay?" She placed her hands on his chest leaning up away from him, his hands though were still wrapped around her and she realized that her legs were out on either side of his hips. She was basically straddling him. Embarrassed, she carefully moved up and off of him. Giving him a hand up which he gratefully took.

Standing up he turned to glare at his brother again who had wet two wash clothes and held them out to his brother and Mallory. An apologetic look on his blushing face. Seeing his brother's apologetic look had instantly deflated his anger, Mallory however was still pissed. She grabbed the wash cloth and started cleaning off her pants. Wildwing cleaned himself off the best he could; completely missing some ice cream on the side of his face, right at the corner of his beak. When he was done he noticed Mallory was walking out of the kitchen. Putting the wash cloth down he looked to his brother while walking out. "Please clean this up Dive." Nosedive just nodded as he watched his brother walk out of the room.

"Wow talk about tension." He said looking at Grin.

"Yes they were both very unhappy."

"No I was talking about the tension between them." Nosedive said, grabbing cleaning supplies out from under the sink.

…..

"Mallory wait!" Wildwing called for the second time that night. She stopped and turned to him.

"What is it Wildwing. I just want to go take a shower." She sighed not wanting to deal with him right now. She had a great night and didn't want it spoiled any more than it already was.

"Mallory we need to talk."

"About wh-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at the side of his beak.

"Uuuhhh What's wrong?" He asked unsure of why she was looking at him like that.

Mallory didn't say anything, her body moved of its own accord and she brought her hand up to his face. He watched her wanting to know what she was going to do when her hand pressed against his cheek and her thumb wiped the vanilla ice cream from his cheek, just above the corner of his beak. She froze in her actions realizing what she was doing but then saw the half lidded look on his face, she decided she wanted to play with him. Smirking she pulled her hand back to show the vanilla ice cream on her thumb.

His eyes finally landed on it and he blinked as if snapping out of a trance. He watched as she brought it to her mouth and licked the ice cream off of her thumb. His eyes widened and his jaw hung open slightly. His breath quickened and he closed his mouth, swallowing at the sight of Mallory licking the ice cream off of her finger. "Hummm vanilla mixed with hazelnut. That's really yummy." She said in a husky voice, looking to be off in thought as she licked her beak. Seeing her pink tongue slip out to lick her beak made Wildwing lick his own in an unconscious response.

"You were saying something?" She then looked to him very seriously, catching him off guard.

"Huh?" He tried to shake off his daze.

"You said we needed to talk." Mallory crossed her arms waiting for what he wanted to say.

"Oh huh. Well... Let's talk tomorrow. I need a shower." He said all of a sudden changing his mind. Feeling rather uncomfortable in his clothes suddenly.

Not knowing or caring why he changed his mind, Mallory just shrugged and walked off to her room without even saying goodnight. Leaving behind a less then amused Wildwing.

…..


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Grabbing her gear, she angrily threw it on. Wildwing decided to do some last minute recon work for everyone. So her plan to go to Sunnyville to investigate has just been blown out of the water. Good thing Mallory didn't know that he was doing this on purpose to stop her from going to investigate by herself or she really would have been pissed. Unfortunately, duty came first so Duke and herself were off to do the recon. Wildwing and Tanya were off doing another recon together and Nosedive and Grin were holding down the fort.

" _Of course Wildwing and Tanya are working together. They always do nowadays."_ She thought to herself in a huffy mood. An arm suddenly slid around her waist and she almost jumped in surprise.

She looked over to Duke smirking at her. "Ready for some adventure sweetheart?"

Smirking back, she surprised the rest of the team. "Sure Sweetheart." Wildwing looked at them carefully, studying the interaction between the two and brushing it off with a shrug. Mallory saw him out of the corner of her eye and wondered what Wildwing would think of her being with someone else. This thought was interrupted when Wildwing ordered everyone to move out. Mallory and Duke took the Areowing while Wildwing and Tanya took the Migrator.

Mallory just hoped there would be some action where she was going. She could use it to help with her frustration.

…..

"We're coming up on final approach." Mallory called out, having calmed significantly during the flight.

"Alright here we go." Duke brought the plane down making a gentle touchdown. Once parked they both unbuckled. "I am getting' bette' and bette' at that." He smirked. She smirked back at him. It was true Duke was turning out to be quiet a good pilot.

"Yep. Five by five." She smirked.

Walking out of the plane they when to investigate the area, where Wildwing said there had been unusual activity but from first glance they didn't see anything wrong. It was just some random open field. "Ah okkaaaayy? Did Wing send us out on a wild goose chase?" Duke questioned, looking at Mallory to see her reaction, shrugging. Mallory searched around, trying to find anything that would give them clues as to if something was going on out here. She was wondering the same thing Duke was.

"Duke, use the Areowing's system to scan the area with the plane. See if you come up with any unusual readings. Mainly see if you can pin point a specific spot."

"Yeah sure but what are you gonna do?"

"You're going to direct me on where to go from the plane." Duke seemed worried about that but looked around again and didn't see any danger. He finally nodded and walked back into the plane while Mallory waited. She trusted Wildwing, if he said there was something odd that Drake One picked up from over here then she would believe it. She knew that looks could be deceiving, this may look like a innocent field but it could really be the base of operation for something sinister.

"Alright scanning now." Dukes voice came over the com. "Your right the plane did pick something up but it's past those trees."

"Okay let me know when I'm getting close." She pulled out her puck canon off of her back and approached with caution.

"I don't know about this Mal. Something doesn't feel right. I'd rather go with you."

"No if I get caught your going to need to either save me or get backup. If I'm walking into a death trap their no point in two of us dying." She said her gun aimed at the tree line as she approached slowly and quietly.

"Then maybe we should just trade?" He offered, really not liking her going out there alone. He was the one better at stealth and escape.

She ignored him. "I'm moving in watch my six." She steadied her breathing and her heart. The treeline was dark and foreboding looking. As soon as she past the line she felt eyes all over her. She was without a doubt walking into a trap. Wandering in further she didn't realize Duke couldn't see her anymore or that communications had been severed. She froze in her steps when she heard a noise off to her right, checking back in with Duke. "Duke how close am I? Do you see any movement around me? Cause I'm hearing something and its pretty dark in here." There was no response, just some static. She had just realized that she lost communication. "Fuck." She mumbled, contemplating her next move. Should she venture forward and see what was out there or head back to the safety of the plane grab more members of the team and risk whatever being here being gone by the time they get back? Decisions, decisions.

The decision was taken from her when the ground under her suddenly gave out. Quick as lightening she grabbed onto a root that the sticking out of the ground stopping her fall. She looked down to find nothing but blackness under her. "This is bad." She looked back up and saw that the ground hadn't given out but it had been a trap door. She refused to be captured, also considering how dark it was down there she didn't know how far the fall was. Grabbing a glow stick from her pouch, she cracked it against her leg and dropped it down. It turns out the fall wasn't that far however the ground was moving. "Why oh why is the ground moving... it's not supposed to do that." She mumbled. Suddenly glowing eyes started appearing below her, all looking up directly at her. She knew these eyes, they belonged to those robots!

One robot suddenly jumped up and grabbed what must have been a ledge and climbed up. Dropping another glow light she saw that the wall was a rock face with no hooks or nooks for it to climb, she sighed in relief until it stabbed it's fingers into the wall and then it's feet, slowly climbing up to her. "Oh fuck." She groaned, desperately trying to climb her way out of the pit. She pulled herself up the root, struggling to get out. The root loosened and she slipped down it, getting closer to the climbing robots. She didn't know what they would do to her if they captured her but she didn't want to find out. The first robot to start climbing was getting to close, it was reaching for her now. Grabbing her gun she shot at it's face three times, blowing it's head off and sending it's body down to the floor with a loud crash.

Climbing again she was almost at the top when more robots appeared around the edge of the trap. Those were the eyes she felt on her. They leaned in, reaching for her but the sound of a saber being activated made them turn. They were too late to stop their bodies from being cut down. Duke looked down the hole find Mallory barely hanging on. "Give me your hand Sweetheart! Hurry!" She stretched hard and finally was able to reach him. He pulled her up as if she weight nothing and both made a run for the Areowing. The robots were already climbing out of the hole and spilling out of the tree lines, giving chase of the two fleeing ducks. Mallory looked back to see them gaining on them. At this rate they would reach the plan at the same time and be caught. Grabbing her grenades, she tossed all of the ones she had back at the robots. It blew them off of their feet and gave Mallory and Duke the time that they needed to get to the plane and close the door. However, as they were taking off at least ten robots were able to jump on the plane. Hoping they'd fall off from the speeds of the Aerowing they took off. Some robots that didn't get a chance to dig their fingers in did fall off but six where still stuck on to the plane.

"Did we lose them all?" Duke questioned. Right after he said that alarm systems in the Aerowing started going off. Mallory looked out the side of the front windshield as saw one robot tearing parts of the wing off. "Damn!" She yelled grabbing her gun and opening the side door, she shoot the robot off the wing. One saw the opportunity to get in the plane and kicked Mallory backwards while swinging itself in. Mallory slide back but was on her feet quickly. Duke seeing the robot get in closed the door behind it quickly in case there was more. Its arm opened up to the canon that Mallory had been talking about before and took aim at Duke, who was unable to do anything since he was flying the plane. Mallory charged it and tackled the robot to the ground knocking its aim off just as it was about to fire making it shoot the dashboard instead. The planes alarms started going nuts. Duke called the other ducks to let them know the Aerowing was going down. "Wildwing it's Duke do you read me!"

"Duke what's going on?" Wildwing's voice sounded worried but Mallory could barely hear it over the sirens.

"We're being attacked by the robots that attacked Mallory in Sunnyville. They got on the Aerowing and damaged the plane."

Mallory was fighting the robot in the back trying to stop it from killing Duke. It outright refused to kill her. She knew why. It was **him** and he wanted her alive. Orion Bluebill.

Suddenly the plane took a nosedive. Mallory and the robot where thrown into the back, smacking against the wall brutally.

"Mallory! Are you alright! Talk to me!" Duke called back while trying to pull the controls back and stop the deadly nosedive they had descended into. "Mallory! Buckle up! This is going to be bad!" Duke yelled seeing the ground approaching fast but he could still hear Mallory fighting with the robot. It was trying to kill Duke and she wasn't going to let that happen. Duke was able to pull the Aerowing up out of a nosedive but they were still going down. He looked back to see Mallory still up and fighting. Over his com Wildwing was asking what was going on and the ground was thirty seconds away. "HANG ON TO SOMETHING!" He screamed back to Mallory. She was picked up by the robot and thrown against the wall, it smashed it's arms right through the wall and pinned her down to it. Cocooning her from the impact.

"DUKE! MALLORY!" Wildwing yelled their names over the com but his voice was cut off by the loud sound of the Aerowing's belly smashing into the ground, breaking rock and earth. The sound was deafening, the impact smacked Mallory violently and painfully around, even when being braced by the robot.

The plane kept sliding but then skidded sideways, causing it to flip on its top and break off a wing but it's main structure stayed intact. When it finally came to a stop Mallory thought the thing might blow any minute. The robot protecting her was destroyed, a large piece of metal that came off in the crash went right into its back and through its chest. The metal pierced her side and stabbed into the wall behind her. It's eyes no longer glowing with mechanical life. She was solidly stuck between it and the metal stacking her to the wall. Looking around it finally occurred to her that she was upside down. "Duke... Duke! DUKE!" She called.

"I'm here Sweetheart." He groaned, he could feel a little blood coming from a cut on the side of his head. He slowly unbuckled from hanging upside and being a skilled thief, was able to land on his feet. A moment of dizziness hit him though and he lost his balance and fell over. Trying to get up Duke found the reason for his dizziness, he was losing blood. A nasty cut went across his abdomen into his right side, he wasn't just losing some blood, he was losing a lot.

"Duke are you alright?!" Mallory called again, she couldn't see clearly what was happening with him thanks to the smoke.

"Not really Sweetheart." Duke pulled out his com. "Wildwing you still there?" Duke's voice sounded weak.

"We're still here Duke. We're coming up on your location. Nosedive and Grin are driving out to your location as well. We'll be there in five minutes." Wildwing's voice sounded strained, he was clearly holding back his panic.

Duke leaned back against a wall, looking to the back of the plane. He couldn't see anything thanks to the smoke. "Better make it three Wing. I'm losing a lot of blood and I can't see Mallory."

"Don't move Duke. The more you move the faster you'll lose blood." Tanya yelled over the com.

"Is Mallory alive? What do you mean you can't see her?" Wildwing sounded a little more frantic.

"She alive but I can't see her condition. That's all I know." Duke coughed.

"Alright. Both of you hold on. We'll be there in three minutes." Wildwing ordered, the com going silent afterwards.

"Mal! What's your condition Sweetheart?" She didn't respond. "Mal! Sound off Sweetheart I need to know your still here with me." He said now worried about his teammate.

Mallory was struggling to reach the emergency venting for the cabin. If she could reach that then the smoke would be cleared from the plane and she could see the damage around them. She heard Duke calling for her but she needed to get this first. She was starting to choke on the rising smoke and could barely breath, this robot may have saved her life in the crash but now it was killing her. The feeling of the cold steel release lever grazed her fingers, she almost had it. Forcing her arm out further she felt the melt pull at her side, it was agonizing. Her fingers wrapped around the lever and she pulled with all her might. The emergency venting was activated and the cabin cleared in seconds. Her and Duke's eyes met at the same time and both were shocked to see the others condition.

Duke was bleeding out on the floor, holding his hand to his side as he stared up at Mallory in horror. It made her wonder how bad it looked. To Mallory, Duke looked like he was in worse condition than her.

"Oh Mal Mal Sweetheart... Does it hurt?" He asked his voice breaking.

"Oh yeah it hurts. Good sign though, if it didn't then that would mean I was dying or going into shock. Duke you look far worse than me. Your losing too much blood." She inspected his wound from her upside down position.

"No Mal, I think we're about the same." From Duke's point of view, he could see the large piece of metal that went right through the robot and into Mallory. Her blood was splattered across the wall behind her. If she hadn't been talking he would have thought she was dead but she didn't seem to be losing that much blood, the metal that stabbed her was clogging the flow. Perhaps at the moment she was doing better than him, but the minute they took her off of that then she was going to need surgery right away. How where they going to get her down from there?

"L'Orange, how bad is it?... Your cut? Is it deep?"

"Yeah it's pretty deep. I can't stop the bleeding."

"Did it hit any organs?" She asked gasping when the plane shifted a little.

"You okay?!"

"Yeah just as long as it doesn't do that again." Some of her blood started dripping down the side of her face to the ground. "Duke did it hit your organs?"

"I don't think so. Oh fuck this sucks." Duke mumbled.

"Th-that's good." She panted in pain. "That means that you can cauterize it and stop the blood flow. Use your saber. You can technically heat it by holding down a button right?"

"Yeah but it won't be hot enough that it glows sweetheart."

"You don't want it to be. Ouch! That's bullshit for movies. If you heated it that much it would just burn away the living tissue and do more damage than help. You just want it hot enough to seal the wound. Now when you do it, don't hold it there for too long or you'll still kill living tissue. Do it in two second bursts until it stops bleeding." She panted from her explanation. "Do you understand Duke."

"Yeah I got it Sweetheart. Did you learn this in Puckworld Special Forces?"

She looked off out the front of the upside down plane. "No my brother."

He paused in what he was doing to look at her. "You have a brother?"

"Had. This isn't the time for this. Just do it Duke before you lose too much blood." Mallory looked at her wound, wondering how she was going to get out off of this thing while the robot was pinning her down. She heard Duke yell out in pain and looked at him to see him following her instructions. He carefully used the edge of his blade to cauterize the wounds. Finally, he stopped and inspected his work, the blood had stopped but he still was going to need treatment.

"Pretty slick there Sweetheart." He smirked, sweat rolling down his face from the pain and the heat from his hot blade on his skin. Deactivating it he put it away back on his shoulder. "Let's see if we can get you down now."

"No! Don't move. You can't risk reopening those. The others are on their way. Just sit. There's nothing you can do for me." Her voice shook as she spoke, sweat dripping off of her as she looked at Duke. His face was once of sorrow and she corrected her statement. " **Right now** there's nothing you can do for me. I'll be fine as long as I get help quickly when I get pulled off." He relaxed after hearing this. Duke cared greatly about his teammates. Even though he and Mallory had gotten into some fights, he still cared about her and he knew she cared about him. He would never want to see her or any of his teammates hurt like this.

Both turned their heads at the sound of engines approaching. "Looks like the others are here." Duke said. Happy to have some help at last. They could hear Nosedive's and Grin's voices outside the wreck.

"Guys you alive in here? Please say yes." Nosedive yelled from the outside.

"YES BUT WE NEED HELP." Duke yelled out to them with a grunt, not happy about his stomach muscle moving under his freshly sealed wound. Mallory left it to Duke to converse with them, she was hurting too much to want to explain anything anymore. The pain was catching up to her.

Suddenly the metal door of the plane was pried open by Grin. The large ducks had his eyes closed with the strain of forcing it open. When he opened them again his soft grey eyes went large at seeing the large puddle of blood around Duke. Nosedive moved in quickly, wanting to see that his teammates were okay and the same looked that had been on Grin's face crossed his.

"Hehe. Do I really look that bad?" Duke joked, flinching due to his wound.

Nosedive climbed in with a medical kit in hand and went to inspect Duke's wound. Before he reached of the other duck he froze when his eyes finally landed on Mallory. She looked dead. Was she dead? "Mal Mal?" He asked in a squeaky voice.

"Hurry up with Duke, Nosedive." She murmured. Letting him know that she was still here. Nosedive swallowed and took a look at Duke's wounds. "Let's see man." While Nosedive applied an ointment to Duke's cauterized wound, Grin came in and inspected Mallory's.

"Does it hurt?" He asked concerned.

"Oh yeah." She grunted. Her face getting a little red from the blood rushing to it. "How long have you been upside down Mallory?" Grin knew that the longest anyone was supposed to be upside down for was twenty minutes. After that she would die from blood putting too much pressure on her brain. The body is a very delicate thing.

"Ten minutes now. I've been keeping track."

He was about to ask more when the sound of a larger engine approached. It was the Migrator, Wildwing and Tanya had arrived. Both rushed into the plane, upon seeing the state of the Aerowing they were horrified. It was upside down and one wing had completely broken off. Smoke came out of the engines in the back, but for the most part it's structure was intact.

Wildwing was the first one in, he looked to Duke as saw him being treated by Nosedive, blood was all around him. Tanya came in and saw Duke and almost panicked, she rushed to his side and took over inspecting him for Nosedive. Wildwing's eyes searched from Mallory but then found Grin's large body standing in front of who he assumed was Mallory.

"Mallory?" He asked approaching Grin from behind. Grin looked back at him and finally moved out of the way so that she could be seen. What met his eyes was a sight that he would never forget in his life. Mallory's blood way all over the wall behind her, she had been impaled by a piece of the plane that came off during the crash. Her eyes were closed and she looked died. He almost fell to his knees but a second later she opened her eyes and looked at him. His heart pounded in his chest as he rushed forward. "Tanya I need you over here! NOW!" Wildwing yelled out. Tanya rushed over and started stuttering at the sight of Mallory. "Tanya! Focus!" Wildwing yelled.

"Right! We gotta get her off but if we remove the metal without knowing the extent of the damage than we risk killing her." She pulled out a saw on her Omitool. "Grin, Wildwing, h-hold her and make sure she d-doesn't move." She started sawing away at the metal between Mallory and the robot. Once she cut through, she cut its arms off as well, making the robot drop to the ground with a loud metallic thud. Once it was off they could better see the damage. It actually wasn't that bad. The piece of metal that went through Mallory's side was smaller then what was coming out of the robot. It had been shaped like an arrow and luckily Mallory had only been hit with the tip of the arrow. This didn't mean the she was completely in the clear but it was good news. It wouldn't be hard to seal up her side and heal her like it would have if the wound had been larger. They still needed to check the damage inside of her but all in all Tanya knew her friend was going to be okay.

Wildwing watched every emotion on Mallory's face, he was very worried about her. He didn't know what he would do if he had lost both Duke and Mallory today. Tanya's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Okay, now we're gonna move her gently off of the metal."

"What about the blood loss?" Grin asked.

"Let's make sure she didn't hit anything vital first." Wildwing said having Grin hold Mallory up. He scanned her with his mask and saw the metal had missed all vital organs, it slid right in between them, not even nicking one. "I don't believe it. It didn't hit one organ." Wildwing said in astonishment.

After that they gently slipped Mallory off the metal on the wall careful to not cause her anymore unnecessary pain. Once she was off Wildwing picked her up in his arms and carried her to the Migrator. Grin picked up Duke and carried him out behind Wildwing. It had been a close call for the ducks today.

…..

Once back at the Pond Tanya went right to work with using the Medicoms to heal Mallory and Duke. Mallory would be sore for a couple of days after but she was going to heal just fine and Duke would be fine too but he was going to have to take it a little easy for a month. Cauterizing his wound had saved his life but it was also going to leave him tender.

Duke was grateful to Mallory for the instruction she had given him. He wanted to ask her about her brother and more about her past but let it be for the meantime. She needed to rest and so did he.

Tanya kept them in the infirmary for a week before releasing them. Thanks to the ducks modern and more advanced technology in about two weeks Mallory would be as good as new and Duke would be on a strong path to recovery. Wildwing had refused to let them practice in the beginning and would continue to be cautious with them. When they started practicing again, the practices were going to be more gentle and if Mallory and Duke were feeling weak or sore, they would be instructed to go sit down and wait it out.

...

Everyone was sitting in the rec room watching tv. Mallory looked over to check on Duke again and saw him watching her from the corner of his eye, realizing that he had been caught he looked off somewhere else in the room. Mallory sighed, she knew he had questions about what she said on the plane. Duke was smart, he saw more then he let on but kept it to himself usually. She knew he would want answers and soon but she wasn't sure she was ready to give them. If Duke had to he would drag Wildwing into this and that was the last thing Mallory wanted, so ready or not she was going to have to give him answers in the coming week.

What was she supposed to tell him, that she dated a guy back on Puckworld in the PSF that turned into a mad scientist because he was obsessed with her and even experiment on her. Yeah that would probably work, but that wasn't even the whole story. So much more intimate detail was in this story and when they confronted Orion, he would only be too happy to reveal it. Orion always liked to have some sort of claim over her, something to mark her as his and his alone. It sickened her. He used to be so charming and handsome, the kind of guy a woman would die to be with but he somehow lost his mind. She didn't know what caused it, just that it happened while they had been dating.

She glanced at Wildwing, taking in his handsome profile as he watched the screen. Wildwing was strong but she worried about him fighting Orion. They were about the same size but if she was being honest with herself, Orion was a better fighter. When Orion fought it was like watching a dance. He was graceful, precised, and quick. He could and would take Wildwing out but he would have to get past her first and she was by far the best fighter on this team. She could take Orion but it would require all of her focus to keep him from killing Wildwing. If he found out that she had affections for Wildwing, he might truly try to kill him. She couldn't let that happen. She needed to stop this silly crush once and for all. Turning her eyes back to the large tv, she took her mind off of her current troubles and watched the sports channel.

…..

A week and three days has gone by since the Areowing was wrecked and it was only partially fixed. Tanya still had to fix the wing on the outside and work on the wiring. Tanya and Grin left this morning in the Migrator to look for parts. Nosedive was helping Wildwing hold down the fort while Mallory and Duke healed from their injuries. Duke's injury had been far worse than Mallory's, even though Mallory had been pinned to a wall like a bug in a collection. No vital organs had been cut, it was a clean wound. Unlike poor Duke who would have bleed out if he hadn't cauterized his own wound closed. He was healing nicely thanks to the medicom but still he needed to take it easy. Mallory would be finished healing in the next couple of days but Duke would need another week and a half of sitting in the medicom.

For the first week, Tanya had fretted over Duke's injuries, sometimes completely forgetting about Mallory's. It didn't hurt Mallory's feelings or anything but it confused her. When it happened Mallory glanced at Wildwing to see him glaring at Tanya. She felt a pang of jealously, thinking that Wildwing was annoyed that Tanya was all over Duke but was surprised when he barked at Tanya to not forget her treatment. Tanya blushed and apologized to Mallory. To which Mallory assured her it was fine. Once she was cared for he seemed to calm down, the tension in his shoulders left him. There were many things that he did that gave her the impression that he liked her but if that was the case, why was he kissing Tanya in hallways? Whatever it didn't matter anyway. Orion would kill him if he found out she cared for Wildwing. So it wasn't important anyway.

A day later, Mallory walked delicately down the hall to the medicom. She was feeling a little sore today so she figured it couldn't hurt to sit in the medicom and have it inspect her. Actually she was a little more than sore, her side was in a lot of pain. It was burning and walking was taking a lot of effort, not that she would admit that. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Taking a moment, she leaned against the wall and breathed deeply. She was almost there without anyone seeing her until Wildwing came around the corner holding a clip board. He looked up at her and was instantly worried. Where Tanya fretted over Duke, Wildwing seemed to be fretting over her. In a way she didn't mind it but at the same time it confused her and made it hard not to interpret his reactions as the one's of someone who cared for you on a deeper level. Which couldn't be if he was kissing Tanya. Did he like them both?

"Mallory? Are you okay?" He walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her back.

"Yeah I'm okay. Just relaxing a moment that's all." She tried to seem nonchalant as she leaned against the wall.

He didn't look like he was buying it. "Relaxing huh? Sure Mal." He sighed at her stubbornness. She would never admit that she was hurt. Her pride wouldn't let her. "Come on. Let's get you to the infirmary." Mallory followed him trying to be a smooth in her movements so she didn't give away how much pain she was in but he could see it and grabbed her arm, throwing it over his shoulder to give her support. She cursed her rotten luck as Wildwing helped her to the infirmary. Why did he have to be the one here? Why wasn't Tanya back yet? Or even Nosedive. Where was Nosedive?

"Take off your shirt and lay down on the bed on your stomach. I'll get the equipment." He went off to grab everything as she did what he instructed. When he came back over she watched him from the side of her eye. She wondered if he would even be nervous at the fact that she was laying topless before him. Looking at his face right now told her no he wasn't nervous at all, in fact it seemed like he didn't care. That was disappointing. She felt his hands ghost over her sensitive feathered skin on her back. It sent shivers down her spine but she repressed it. His hands, as gently as possible cleaned her wound and wrapped it. His fingers we're gentle as they secured the band-aid in place. A blush came to her cheeks, betraying her emotions to anyone who was looking. Lucky for her, no one was there to see it and Wildwing was too busy with treating her.

"There. All done." He said, finally removing his fingers from her back and letting the heat building in her body subside.

Mallory nodded her thanks and turned away from him. Pulled her shirt back over her head and down her body. Not realizing that Wildwing had been watching her, unable to pull his eyes away from her elegant back. He had gotten teasing glances of the side of her breast which froze him in his spot. She began to turn to him and he quickly turned away, realizing that he had been ogling poor Mallory. He felt guilty about it. Here she was injured and he couldn't pull his mind out of the gutter. He was tempted to watch her take her shirt off but was able to restrain himself but when he started touching her skin and feathers on her back, he had to force himself to focus on just healing her. She was so beautiful.

"Thanks for the help Wildwing." She was about to walk out when he called out to her.

"Wait." He grabbed a couple of pills that Tanya kept for pain. "Take this tonight. They'll help you sleep." She nodded and smiled at him. It was the first time she had smiled at him in a while. He had missed her smile.

"Thanks Wing."

"Do you need any help getting back to your room?" He asked, worried for her. She took the pill and shook her head no.

"I should be good. You're a pretty good doctor ya know. Thanks again." She winked at him and walked out, going back to her room. He wanted to sigh in relief, the tension that had been between them seemed gone. He was glad for that but that still left the issue of her dating a human. _"That's what seems to have caused her sudden change."_

He didn't like her sudden change. She was closed off and disconnected from everyone it seemed. Not only that but he knew she had been playing with him the week before when she licked the ice cream off of her finger and it frustrated him. Mainly because he wanted her to mean it when she did those kinds of things. Wildwing sighed to himself as he walked back to his room. Should he confront her about her date with the human? At this point it seemed like it was going to cause more problems than it could help. When he had taken a shower that night, he could still feel where she had touched his cheek with her thumb. Part of him didn't want to wash his cheek because of it but knew that was ridiculous and washed it anyway. That all happened the week before and now he couldn't get the way she looked or the way she acted out of his mind. She had been so sexy and so flirty with him. He ran a hand through his hair. He needed a shower.

Wildwing showered quickly then dried off then threw on some sweat pants to lounge in. His feathers on his chest and stomach were still wet. He looked down at himself in the mirror. Seeing the defined eight pack that made up his stomach muscles. He hadn't been in this good of shape before he got to Earth. He was in good shape then but not as good as he was now. He even had to admit to himself that he looked good, better than that human she was dating looked. His mind kept going back to Mallory dating a human. Why a human? They weren't even that attractive. Well this guy he had to admit was good looking, even for a human but still. Why a human? She didn't know it but she had a perfectly willing drake right here that wanted to be with her.

"When it comes down to it, if we're stuck here, Mallory will be forced to follow the team's wishes on not dating humans. Pretty much everyone agrees with it but Mallory. She used to agree with it too but what's changed? It was around the same time that her attitude towards me changed. It has to be linked somehow." He said to himself, rubbing his beak.

Wildwing already had the pairing planned in his head. Duke would be with Tanya and Mallory would be with him. That made sense to him. Tanya though, Tanya had been giving him complications. A little over two weeks ago she had kissed his cheek in the kitchen, he didn't think any of it, just that she did it as a friend thanking him for his help. He had been helping her the night before on new technology and she was exhausting herself trying to get it done. So he offered to help and spent two weeks helping her finish her work. It was exhausting. She was fallen asleep at her work station. Many nights he had to wake her up and send her to bed. As hard as that was, that duck could sleep through an earthquake! Anyway, she had been very appreciative of his help, so he didn't say anything about the kiss on the cheek. When they walked down the hall towards the garage together she had surprised him by outright kissing him on the mouth. He hadn't been quite sure what to do but after she was done he had let her down easy. Of course she was a bit upset and embarrassed but he had put a hand on her shoulder and told her it was alright but he wasn't interested in her that way. She seemed to take it well at the time, but as of recent she was being mopey and he had been trying to cheer her up. It seemed to be working until she saw his anger over seeing Mallory on a date but this was something that he couldn't hide nor did he want to. She needed to understand that his interests were in Mallory and that she needed to move on.

He sighed as he laid on his bunk bed, high off the floor and stared at his ceiling, tracing the patterns in the metal with his eyes. Mallory... now if only he could get her interests directed at him. He let his mind wonder to when they fell in the kitchen thanks to his brother's inability to use a blender properly. His feet had gone right out from under him and consequently had taken out Mallory as well. He was embarrassed at first when he fall and took her out with him but his embarrassment instantly fled at the feel of her on top of him. The contours of her body had fitted perfectly to his. He wished he hadn't been wearing is gloves at the time so that he could feel her soft skin under his hands. Placing his arms above his head to relax, his fingers brushed a soft, slick fabric. He pulled it out to see it was the jersey she had borrowed. He still hadn't washed it, the reason being because it smelled like her. When the shirt had first hit him in the face he had been surprised but before he could remove it a lovely scent tickled his nostrils. Mallory's smell was all over it, especially around the collar. When she offered to wash it he wanted to panic, he didn't want it to lose her smell so he declined, saying he would wash it himself.

Yeah right. He was never going to wash this shirt, actually he wanted her to borrow more of his clothing so it would smell more like her. He wondered if she realized the significance of letting her borrow his jersey. He imaged what she would look like with his numbers the '00' across the back of her shoulders. His cheeks heated up at the thought of her wearing **only** his jersey. Maybe he should let Nosedive back in the laundry room…. Even give him another set of matches to burn her next set of clothing. He laughed thinking about how furious she would be but stopped when he thought of some of her new clothes. He was very fond of those tight leather pants; he definitely didn't want those to burn. He needed to think of something else. What he really needed was sleep, not images of Mallory in those tight pants dancing around in his head. Looking over at the shirt, he brought it to his nostrils, inhaling deeply again. "She even smells beautiful. Oh man. I've fallen hard." He mumbled, hugging the shirt, letting the smell lull him to sleep.

…..


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own the Mighty Ducks

Unrequited Love

Once again a silent figure crept through the halls of the underground base that belonged to the mighty ducks. He had one destination in mind, his long-time obsession, Mallory. Tonight he would make the upgrades necessary to the device he placed in the back of her neck.

Turning a corner, he passed the leader's room. He had to be careful with this duck. This Wildwing had the mask of Drake DuCaine which made him dangerous but to top it off he was actually clever and a pretty good fighter. But it was Wildwing's cleverness that he needed to watch out for.

Orion prided himself on his fighting skills and intelligence and he took great care to learn as much as possible about his enemies before confronting them. He would have tried to get onto their team but his research told him that something like that has happened before and this female duck had ended up being a spy for Dragaunus. Not to mention Mallory would attack first and ask questions later when it came to him. Damn her for rejecting him the way she did! She didn't understand what he was doing was for her own good. It was for their own good. But the past was the past and now it was time to make a new future for them.

He entered the security code to unlock her door and let himself in. Walking up to her bed he watched her sleep for a moment before putting chloroform over her nose again to knock her out. Once she was unconscious he pulled away the covers and looked at her side. The wound was still healing. Those stupid robots. Their only job was to capture her and keep her safe, instead they almost killed her. He sat down on her mattress next to her and brushed stray locks of red hair out of her face. "Don't worry Mallory. I've taken care of those robots. They won't make the same mistake again." He had been so angry when he realized that the robots almost killed her. The only reason that he didn't decommission the rest was because that one robot had done its job and did in fact save her life. Even though it was the cause of her of the crash and almost getting killed as well. Yes, he knew how the crash happened. The robot's eyes recorded everything and he always checked their footage.

Brushing his fingers through her thick hair, he breathed in deeply. Running his fingers through her hair had released the smell of her shampoo. He brought his nose down to better take in the scent. It wasn't the same as she had used on Puckworld but it was close, as close as she could get on this planet. His stomach clench in excitement as he thought about the smell of her hair when he used to make love to her back when they had been together. He couldn't wait to do that again, having his nose buried in her hair as their bodies moved as one. "Tomorrow Mallory. You and I will be together again tomorrow."

Sighing he kissed her soft mouth tenderly and flipped her gently onto her stomach. He had a lot of work to do in a small amount of time if he wanted her to be ready for tomorrow. Getting out his tools he placed the knife at the back of her neck and made a little incision. He tenderly blotted up the blood that flowed gently out of the cut with a cotton ball. "Now to finish these upgrades..."

…..

The next day Mallory woke up with the worst headache she had ever had. Groaning she grabbed her head and realized that her neck was crazy sore. "Oh wow what did I do last night?" She mumbled to herself, rubbing the back of her neck, her fingers missing the small cut that was sealed up with a laser. Looking over at her clock she saw that she slept right through her alarm. It was noon! She never slept that late! She couldn't sleep that late even if she wanted to. Getting up she stretched her neck, muttering cruses at the pain in her muscles there. She was lucky that they didn't have practice until the evening.

Walking out to the kitchen after getting ready. Mallory frowned when she came out to find it completely empty. Grabbing some food and eating quickly she went out to the rec room to find no one there either. Sighing she opened her com and used her auto-tracker to locate everyone. Mallory found that the address and looked it up. They were at a movie theater! They went to a movie! It kind of hurt that they didn't ask her to go but they probably came by her room to see if she wanted to go and she was still sleeping. She would give them the benefit of the doubt but it still didn't make her any less sour about it. Shrugging it off as to not think about it, she walked back to her room. _"Just because they choose to leave me behind doesn't mean that I can't go have fun."_ She pulled out her phone and looked up Jim's number. "It'll be fun to see Jim again." She said to herself. Looking up she saw one Drake One's camera's watching her as she walked toward it. It's red light flashing, letting her know it was active and monitoring her.

Ignoring it she placed her thumb over the call button but excruciating pain suddenly started from the back of her neck and shot up into her skull. Mallory screamed and dropped her phone. She fell to her knees and clutched her head. _"This isn't a normal headache! This is way worse!"_ Her screams echoed and bounced off the walls. Her world was spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick. "Oh make it stop." She whimpered, her fingers digging so hard into her head that her nails were drawing blood. "What's happening!?" She yelled to the empty underground base. She could hear a high pitched noise ringing in her ears from the pain.

The lights in the hall behind her started flickering then the lights furthest down the hall from her went out. Set by set they slowly plunged the hall into darkness bring the darkness closer to Mallory's hunched position. The loud sound of the lights going out echoed off the walls. Suddenly the pain stopped and her vision cleared. She wanted to curl up in a ball but without her consent her body stood from her crouched position to turn around to stare down the hall into the approaching blackness. The next row of lights went out and then the next until the row in front of her were the last ones on. The lights on the other side of her had done the same thing at the same time; slowly gone out until the row behind her were the only ones left on. The red light on Drake One's camera flickered on and off sporadically, the new program Tanya had installed was fighting whatever was attacking the rest of the systems in the Pond.

She stood, facing the darkness before her. A deep sense of foreboding filling her stomach, the kind of foreboding that she would get from watching a horror movie and knowing something is about to pop out of the dark to grab her. Only she for some reason she couldn't run. She couldn't yell, she couldn't even twitch. She was stuck.

Her world was still swimming and her vision was unfocused but her body knew exactly what it was doing. She stared ahead helpless as she heard the sound of footsteps on the ground approaching her. Her eyes were dilated to the point that her iris were just a thin green line around her large pupils. A clear indication that something was wrong with her.

The footsteps came closer and the outline of a large male duck a little taller than Wildwing was slightly visible. The darkness hid the handsome face she knew all too well. "Orion." She whispered his name and suddenly all the lights went out, plunging the hallway into darkness, she couldn't see a thing. One of the lights behind the intruder flickered, showing his strong and masculine silhouette. She could barely register what was happening around her as he held his hand out to her and as she placed her hand in his. The lights stopped flickering and the hall went completely dark and the camera finally went out. Mallory could feel him tug her along back into her bedroom. She complied with his wishes without a fight. She could hear her door close behind her and felt the bed underneath her as she fell back onto it. Then came the pleasure.

…..

When she opened her eyes again Mallory found herself naked in her bed. "What happened?" She mumbled. She felt like crap! What was going on? Why couldn't she remember what happened earlier that day? She was about to call Jim but then after that she drew a complete blank. She woke up this afternoon feeling like crap too!

Getting up and getting dressed she wondered out of her room down to the kitchen to find everyone laughing and talking. "Hey look who it is!" Nosedive announced. Everyone turned to see Mallory looking confused.

"What did I miss?" She asked, already knowing that they went to the theater without her. She was hurt they didn't ask her before but now it was the furthest thing from her mind. _"Seriously what happened to me earlier?"_

"We uh, went to a movie. We tried to get you but you weren't, ah ya know, answering your door." Tanya tripped over her words, while tilting her head at Mallory. "Are you feeling okay Mallory? You're looking a little, well you know, flushed." At that everyone looked at her again, studying her face. Wildwing walked over to study her closer.

"She's right you do look flushed. You feeling okay Mallory?" He brought a hand up to her forehead to test her temperature, she almost sighed with how cool his hand felt to her hot head. His eyes widened when he felt how hot she was. "Mallory your burning up!" She pulled her head away from his hand, realizing she was about to lean into him.

"Nothing sleep won't help I'm sure." She said stepping back, looking at her watch she wanted to fall over. It was 5pm at night! How had she missed the whole day? She woke up at noon, ate, was going back to her room then nothing! She should probably tell the others of her concerns but she didn't want to at least not until she herself knew what was going on.

"Well maybe some food will help ya Sweetheart." Duke said sitting down in one of the chairs at the table. "Grin's cooking tonight. So should be good." He put a toothpick in his mouth and twilled it around with his tongue, making little circles.

Tanya, tensed at Duke's statement. "Are you saying that my cooking is bad?" She turned and glared at him. Duke went from relaxed to tense in seconds. Mallory couldn't help but snicker at Tanya's temper. When it came to her cooking, she was a little sensitive and no one was safe.

"Ah well... what I meant was..." Tanya glared at him, daring him to speak another word. "Well... Sweetheart. Your amazing as a team tech. Couldn't find a better duck for the job but your cooking..." He trailed off. The conversation went south from there.

Ignoring Duke's and Tanya's argument, Wildwing raised an eyebrow at Mallory, wanting to know what was wrong with her but she continued to act like nothing was wrong and ignored him. Sighing he took a seat at the table next to his brother. Mallory turned to walk out of the kitchen, catching his attention again. "Dinner is gonna be ready soon, Mal. You should stick around if you're hungry." If she left, then there was a good chance that Nosedive would eat her helping.

"I'm not really hungry. Give my share to Nosedive." She said walking out, despite the fact that she slept the whole day, she was still exhausted. Perhaps she was getting sick. It didn't matter, she was going to shower and see if Jim was available.

…..

She was dressed in a short black leather skirt that had a slit up the back of it to allow more movement and a purple top with a black leather jacket. Her black heeled boots went up over her knees, showing off her legs. Her hair was pushed back and in a bun on top of her head. Her makeup was light but pretty. She looked good. Mallory took the elevator to the top side of the Pond and pulled out her com to call Jim. His phone rang a couple of times before he picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Jim. It's Mallory."

"Hey beautiful what's happening?"

"Not much. Want to hang out?" She walked out of the locker room and headed towards the front doors.

"You know it!" She could practically hear Jim smirking through the phone.

"Okay. I'm heading over to Sunnyville right now. See you soon." She hung up her com not realizing that someone had overheard her conversation with Jim.

Wildwing was making rounds on the top side of the Pond when he heard Mallory's conversation. She was going to see that human again and he still needed to confront her about it. "No time like the present." He mumbled to himself. Knowing that this was going to lead to a fight. "Mallory!" He called and froze seeing the outfit she was wearing. Oh man she looked good, beautiful actually and she was dressed like that for someone else. The knowledge of this left a burning pit in his stomach and furrowed his brows without his consent, jealously.

She jumped a little but turned to see Wildwing coming up behind her. "Oh hey. I didn't see you there. What's up?" Mallory played it off as causal, not wanting to let him know that she had a secret bike stashed in a secret garage. That was her personal space.

"We need to talk." Wildwing said crossing his arms, his mood already foul.

"Okay. About what?" She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what this could be about.

"It's about you dating that human, Jim." Mallory's mouth dropped open. "Yeah I know about it. Mallory when we came here we agreed that no one would date humans."

"How did you find out?" She didn't bother denying it. There was no point. He knew and she hadn't realized that he had seen her. Which meant he saw her on her date. Which also meant that he knew she had a secret bike.

"I saw you out with him. You went to a movie together but that's not the point. The point is that no one is supposed to be dating humans."

"Why? Why do you care?" That seemed to catch him off guard. He composed himself quickly.

" _I care more then you know."_ He thought.

"Wildwing you can't tell me what to do when it comes to my love life." Mallory placed her hands on her waist defiantly, staring up at him, daring him to argue with her. Placing her hands on her waist had only drawn his eyes to her curvaceous form and again drew attention to the fact that she was dressed like this for someone else. That pit in his stomach burned a little hotter.

"Wrong. We're stuck on a strange planet with a strange race that we don't completely understand. We have to stick together. The humans have plenty to choose from, we don't. Let him find another female."

"Are you kidding? There's four guys and only two girls! How would that work?" She growled at him.

"Don't raise your voice with me. Nosedive is still too young to be thinking about this and Grin has a wife back home. He doesn't have an interest in such things."

"So that leaves two males and two females huh? Answer me this; what happens when Nosedive is old enough that he starts thinking about this kind of thing. When he actually needs it? What are you gonna do then? Share? Let him date a human? Or possibly force him to remain a virgin for the rest of his life?"

"We'll come to that when it happens but for right now it's one male for one female." He ground his teeth together, not liking how she had dragged Nosedive into it, though she did have a point.

"You know what Wildwing? Until you actually think this through I don't want to hear about it." She turned ready to leave.

"Mallory! Don't turn your back on me!" He was in front of her before she could get to the door. "I'm ordering not to date humans. Period. As the captain of this team, I'm responsible for everyone and you will fall in line. This is the end of the discussion." He walked away, leaving a stunned Mallory watching him leave with her jaw hanging open.

She wanted to kick someone, mainly her leader. _"Screw him! If he thinks he can control my love life, then he's got another thing coming! How is it any of his business anyway? He has Tanya!"_ She thought, stomping out of the pond and to the secret garage.

She pulled out her bike and placed her black helmet on her head.

…..

Wildwing was about to enter the elevator when he felt guilt hit him in the chest. That pit of anger sizzled out, leaving him feeling a little lonely and cold. He didn't want to leave things the way he did so he walked back to where he last saw Mallory. Not seeing her there, he went outside figuring that she went out there to cool down but she wasn't there either. He got that sinking feeling and used his auto-tracker to find her location, silently hoping that she wasn't on the road to Sunnyville. Luckily he found her signal around the side of the Pond. She was walking around outside.

He breathed a sigh of relief until he heard the sound of a bike engine. The sinking feeling in his stomach returned and he watched as the black bike she was riding the night of her date zoomed out of the parking lot and onto the nearby highway to Sunnyville. He felt his emotion twirl around him like a hurricane. He went from worried and nervous to sad then to furious in seconds. Turning he ran inside and used the emergency stairs to run down to the garage, deep in the Pond. He would use a duck-cycle to catch up to her. If she wanted to run away, then she should have grabbed a duck-cycle. They were far faster than any engine that a human could build and could go from 0 to 100 in 2.6 seconds with a top speed of 217 miles an hour thanks to Puckworldian technology. She wouldn't get away.

Jumping on a cycle he opened the hidden garage and gunned it out of the Pond onto the highway. He looked like a blur going down the road, passing cars as if they were standing still.

…..

Mallory was thinking about Wildwing's reaction to her dating Jim. It wasn't even a real date… well, maybe it was. She wasn't honestly sure. She knew Jim wanted it to be a date and part of her did too. It would help her get over Wildwing but another part of her wanted to hold back and wait. It was pointless though. He wasn't going to see her that way but some of his actions made her hopeful. Like his reaction tonight. She wanted it to be jealously but knew that it was his priorities that lead him to have that kind of reaction. She was disobeying him and breaking the rules, so of course he was angry. Mallory never agreed to not dating humans but it was talked about. How did he get wind that she had gone out with Jim? He had been out with Tanya on that night right? Nosedive and Grin had gone to a movie and Duke…. wait….. She hadn't seen Duke all day! Did he follow her and tell Wildwing? It's the only thing she could think of. _"Damn I should have been paying better attention!"_ She thought to herself as the sound of a powerful engine caught her attention. Looking in her side mirror she saw Wildwing coming up on her fast. "What the hell!?" She growled. Gunning her bike and weaving it in and out of traffic to get away from him but it was no use. Wildwing stayed right on her tail. Frustrated and furious she pulled off the highway onto a quiet street. Stopping her bike and getting off, she pulled her helmet off and threw it into the back compartment of her bike. Wildwing got off his bike when he threw the kick stand down. Both marched angrily towards each other, each ready to verbally tear apart the other. "What hell is your problem!?" Mallory yelled.

"You! You're my problem! You don't listen! What did I JUST SAY! I SAID DON'T DATE THE HUMAN AND THEN YOU GO AND DO IT ANYWAY!"

Mallory was a little surprised, Wildwing never yelled like this. She really must have pushed his buttons. Every once in a while someone disobeyed him but he never flipped out like this. Nosedive disobeyed him all the time but then again he was his kid brother.

"Wildwing you can't control my personal life! You're not my keeper!"

"You know what? That's exactly-" BOOM! Wildwing's bike was blown to pieces, throwing both Mallory and him far from the explosion. They landed on their backs and looked to what used to be a duck-cycle.

"What the?" Wildwing got to his feet to figure out what happened. Lasers were fried from the tree line at him. Thinking fast he pulled up his ice shield to reflect the lasers. His eyes widened when he saw the silver drones coming out of the trees. "Mallory we're under attack! It's those drones!"

"YES I CAN SEE THAT!" She yelled back at him, annoyed that this is what her night turned into. Changing into her battlegear she pulled out her weapon and fired on the drones, blowing a few up after several shots.

"Mallory get behind me!" They would soon realize that Mallory was a threat and start shooting at her but instead they charged her. He kept his shield up and threw a puck grenade at the large group firing on him. It blew them to smithereens. Turning back to help Mallory his eyes widened as he saw them trying to drag her away by her arms. One drone had lost its arm but it still had one hand to hold Mallory's wrist. The other drone grabbed Mallory's other arm and was pulling her towards the tree line.

Mallory fought relentlessly against them. No matter what kind of damage she did to them, they refused to hurt her. "No! You're not taking me alive!" She kicked at the robots dragging her away.

Wildwing grabbed one's head and ripped it clean off. The drone's body crumpled to the ground while the other was forced to let go of Mallory and took aim at Wildwing. Mallory was fast and kicked it's arm away then shot it three times. It finally blew up and fell in pieces to the ground.

Both Mallory and Wildwing stood there, searching the remains of the drones for any others. "Get on your bike Mallory. We're going home. Now. And you're driving." He didn't leave room for argument. Resigning herself to a ruined night out she got on the bike and he hopped on behind her, scooting close to her. This bike wasn't like the duck-cycles, it didn't have the same kind of seating so it was a little tighter but it had more room then he was giving it.

"Uh Wildwing, I'm not going to drive like a maniac if that's what you think." She was trying to gently tell him to get back a bit, however he ignored this.

"Just drive Mallory."

She faced forward and did as he told her. There was a time and place to argue. Out here in the open where they had just been attacked wasn't it. She knew it and so did he, otherwise he would probably be railing into her about how she disobeyed.

Revving the engine, she drove back to Anaheim, her body tingling from Wildwing's being pressed so close to her. Why couldn't she just get over him? Even now he affected her, no matter how hard she tried to fight it or how angry she was at him. Why did it have to be him? She shivered as his hands tightened on her waist. His breath ghosted across her neck, making Mallory tense. The ride was quiet until they got to the Pond.

Mallory parked the bike and Wildwing got off and waited patiently for her. She was glad to finally have some distance from him. She was getting too warm and flustered. They walked back in to Drake One to find no one there. "Everyone must be asleep or in their rooms." He said, still sounding annoyed. Mallory just shrugged and went to walk towards the rec room. Wildwing walked with her since it was on the way to their rooms. When they got to the rec room Wildwing grabbed Mallory's arm and pulled her to a stop. She looked back at him annoyed. "We need to talk." He said not letting her arm go.

Consenting she turned to face him with her hands on her hips, waiting for what it was he wanted to say. "I don't know what's going on with you Mallory but I don't like it. You've changed. Your defiant, your cut off. I want to understand what's happening with you but your pushing everyone away. This change in your behavior is going to stop and when I give orders I expect them to be followed."

"I've never disobeyed an order until it came to you trying to take command over my personal life and I don't follow those orders because it's none of your business. I don't tell you who to fuck!"

This gave Wildwing pause. "Is she sleeping with the human?" A painful and angry blaze lite his body, the emotions he was feeling went beyond jealously. If he had seen Jim right now, he might have actually attacked him. Before he could stop himself, he used his quick reflexes developed by years of being a goalie and grabbed her arms, pulling her close so that she was looking up at him. "If we were on Puckworld then it wouldn't be an issue but we're stuck here in a place where the only ducks are on this team. We may never get back to Puckworld and if that's the case then we're going to have to make our own families here. This change in your attitude started when you started seeing that human and I don't know what else to blame for it."

" _Blame yourself."_ Mallory thought.

"I don't want you seeing that human again. Let him find someone else. There are plenty of humans out there for him. He'll figure it out. **Don't** disobey me again or your benched for the season."

He let go of Mallory's arms and left her to think about what he said. She watched him go, rubbing her arms where his hands had been. She wondered if he realized that he'd gripped her so tight that he was hurting her. Watching he walked away Mallory could see that he was literally shaking with rage. In that moment he had actually frightened her a little. Why was he so angry about this? This wasn't a normal reaction for him. "What is going on with you Wildwing?"

…..


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Wildwing walked the halls of the Pond, unable to find sleep. The argument he had with Mallory earlier that night was still on his mind. He hadn't meant to get so rough with her. He had to stop himself from shoving her when he walked away. He was experiencing emotions on a level that he hadn't felt before and it was confusing.

Was he being unfair? He always wanted to be a fair leader to his team but he was having a hard time controlling his jealously. Yeah he was jealous. He was duck enough to admit it, he didn't want his actions and reactions to be swayed by his emotions but when it came to Mallory it couldn't be helped. He should step back and really think about this. Wildwing had never been the jealous type but somehow with Mallory it was different and it wasn't just the situation they were stuck in. With Mallory everything was different.

The whole team had spoken about this situation and everyone agreed but only he had chosen the couples. Was that even fair? Was it selfish of him to pair himself with Mallory? He knew now that Tanya liked him but he couldn't bring himself to find the attraction to her like he had with Mallory. Mallory had his attention the moment he laid his eyes on her. Duke acted as if he didn't care either way but had made his choice clear to Wildwing. If they were to be paired off he wanted to be paired with Tanya. At first Wildwing was surprised, Duke explained that while Mallory was beautiful, they didn't always get along, there would never be passion between him and Mallory, so for him the choice was obvious. Wildwing was pleased to hear it, this meant that he was free to pursue Mallory. Everything had been in order but he still had to talk to Mallory and Tanya about what the actual pairs would be. In truth he held off cause he wanted it to happen naturally. That had backfired on him. Tanya liked him, Duke liked Tanya, he liked Mallory and Mallory liked some human! It was like some bad Wednesday afternoon drama that his mother would be watching when he got home from school.

His mother. He hadn't thought of her in some time. Of him and his brother he looked more like his father and Nosedive looked more like their mother. She was a pretty duck with long blond hair and blue eyes, her feathers were white. She always talked about wanting grandchildren. At the time he couldn't have cared less about her random ramblings of him getting married and finding that perfect girl. Now he wished he had listened more as she prattled on, folding clothes while he did his homework on the couch. One thing that she said had stuck with him though. She had been in a particularly melancholy mood when he came home one day. It wasn't the usual prattle and while he scribbled down his notes, glancing up to check on her, she said the sentence that made him pause and really look at his mother. "When you find the woman that you love, don't let her get away. Don't let her not see you, don't let her find someone else. Don't let that male push you out on the side lines. Don't do what I did with your father and let him slip away to someone else's arms. If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." He didn't know what else to do but nod and hug his mother as she silently wept on his shoulder. She had taken care of him and his brother by herself. Their father had gone off with a younger woman. Leaving his mother with the burden of raising two young children by herself. They didn't have a lot of money growing up but they were happy with their mother, she always made sure of it. They had been able to get many years together before she died. She had gotten sick, a caught some sort of lung disease that eventually become too much for her. He was nineteen when she died, leaving him and Nosedive alone in the world. It was hard in the beginning but they got by. He worked jobs after college to support himself and Dive and Dive did the same after highschool. Both brothers understood the meaning of hard work and life had always been complicated for him. So why should it be any different here? He didn't know what he was expecting but he should have known better. For once he just wanted things to go his way.

But things couldn't have been more complicated if he had tried to make it so. Then there was Nosedive. Right now he didn't care or have an interest in relationships but he would and when that happened he had a choice to make. Lift the band on dating humans or let him date Tanya or Mallory. Nosedive was his brother though and they had a lot of the same tastes, so he knew who he would want. Wildwing ran a hand through his hair, a habit he picked up in recent weeks due to stress. Could he share Mallory with Dive? Would Mallory even want to stay with him if he lifted the ban on dating humans? Crap this sucked. Not only where they dealing with this drama but they still had yet to capture Dragaunus and there was possibly a new threat out there. Someone from Mallory's past that she refused to speak about.

He hadn't been paying attention to the direction he took and found himself at Mallory's door. His eyes ran along the heavy metal that barricaded her in her room from him. She may have been in the next room but the distance between them couldn't have been further. He wanted to close that gap but was truly lost on how to achieve this. Placing his hand on the door he contemplated how she used to act before meeting the human and how she was now. Before she seemed to reciprocate his feelings. He had been assured that he made the right decision when it came to the pairings. Now he wasn't so sure. How could he make her see? He had dropped so many hints but she either ignored them or was incredibly dense. He knew she wasn't stupid so what was it? Was it him? She didn't want him? Was he so unappealing? Back on Puckworld he was considered one of the more attractive guys in school and if he'd say so himself, he thought himself to be very attractive. He dated plenty of girls who told him he was handsome, so that couldn't be it.

Perhaps she wanted someone more assertive? But when he was more assertive with her it only seemed to piss her off. Actually perhaps he was a bit too assertive, maybe even pushy. If anything it was hurting his possible relationship with her. No, being pushy with Mallory wouldn't work. She was a strong independent woman; it was one of the things he liked about her. No, being pushy wouldn't work at all. Just being himself before worked fine only now she constantly avoided him. She barely even acknowledged him in the kitchen during meals or when everyone was hanging out in the rec room. It made going back to the way things were difficult. Somehow he had to find the words to make her see. He didn't want to lose her, not that he really had her but he didn't want to lose an opportunity to be with her. He would find a way, he had too. He would do what his mother said and fight for what he wanted. Mallory meant too much to him not to. Letting his hand slip from the door he walked down the hall to his room. Right now he needed rest. Tomorrow he would find a way to patch things up with Mallory. Hopefully she would let him.

…..

Mallory's muscles burned from over use. She kicked at the current that she was caught in. The powerful water threatened to suck her under and drown her but she kept fighting and kicking back up to the surface. She had to get out and get away! He was going to catch her! Mallory was plunged back under the violent waters as and she kicked back up to the surface to get a large gulp of air. Looking down stream she saw a branch hanging out over the water. She could use that to pull herself out. She prepared herself, when the branch was over head she kicked with all her might and shot out of the water to grab it. Success!

Slowly she pulled herself to land and fell to the bank exhausted. Breathing heavily, trying to take in as much oxygen as her lungs could possibly get, while laying down on the bank of the river. "I can't stay here. I have to run." She motivated herself to get up and moving. "He'll catch me." She stumbled to her feet and moved her burning muscles to run into the forest along the river. Pulling her com out she attempted to contact her team. "Wildwing come in." There was no answer only static could be heard over the com. She sighed to herself, she was on her own.

The scenery changed and she was no longer in the woods but in some building. She was still wet from her swim in the lake and water dripped from her hair, making a small tap sound as it hit the floor. Her shoes squeaked as she moved cautiously down the hall. The sound of heavy banging was heard far down the hall ahead of her. Where she was, was lite by fluorescent lights that would flicker with each bang. Further down though was pitch black, something told her not to go there but her feet kept moving towards the sound of the banging anyway. Frightened at not being able to control her own body she could only watch through her eyes as she approached the dark. Was it him? Was he in that waiting for her? She finally froze when the banging sound changed to a breaking sound and she saw water come down the corridor at her. It flooded in quickly, raising and getting higher with every second. The floors below her must have been flooded too.

She ran in the opposite direction of the water and made it to some stairs that lead up to an elevator. The looking around herself she found she was trapped; her only exit was the elevator and it was a risk because Orion could be controlling it. But as the water came up to her chest she found she didn't have any other options. Climbing up the stairs and out of the rising water she opened the doors, got in and pressed the button to go to the up to the lobby. The elevator sealed and started moving but it didn't go where she wanted, instead its numbers appeared to be going down. His voice came over the speakers, he was laughing. The elevator was going down but it didn't get a drop of water in it, it should have started flooding. That was a good sign right? Maybe he was just playing games with her. She waited nervously to see if he was going to drown her, the doors cracked open and she held her breath. Waiting to see what awaited her beyond the shiny metal. They opened to reveal a wall of dark water, it came flooding in through the crack in the door and filled the elevator with her in it.

"NO! SOMEONE HELP!" She screamed. "ORION DON'T!

His voice came over the speakers again. "If you agree to my terms I won't kill you. What do you say Mallory? Death by drowning or be with me?"

"OKAY! OKAY! PLEASE GET ME OU-" The water completely filled the elevator but the light in it remained lite. She started to choke.

Jumping awake she gasped for air. Frantically looking around to make sure she was safe, once confirmed she laid back on the bed, feeling like she had a knot it her stomach. It had been a strange dream but there was an air of finality to it. Something in her subconscious was telling her that if she didn't give into Orion and his wants this time, that he would kill her. In the past his obsession with her had saved her life on more than one occasion. Now though, something was telling her that he was out of patience. She was no longer safe from him. Wrapping her bed sheets around herself, she curled up on her side, wanting some form of comfort. With the way her heart was racing, she knew that she wasn't going to get sleep. So she got up, put on some pants and went to the rec room to watch some tv.

Upon entering she was surprised to see Duke sitting on a large couch watching tv. He turned to see who was up at this hour and was surprised to find Mallory. "Hey Sweetheart. What has you up at this hour? You okay?" There were some moments when Duke was so sweet that she wanted to hug him and just hearing him call her sweetheart felt familiar and normal. When in the past three weeks nothing had been normal. Hearing his voice, seemingly took an invisible weight off of her chest. She smiled at him sweetly, which confused Duke. It was a real smile. One of affection. It made him blush a little under his feathers. He cleared his throat and gestured for her to take a seat next to him, which she actually took. Another surprise, usually she would sit on another sofa, not directly next to him. He watched her carefully, like he was trying to find out if this was in fact Mallory McMallard. She noticed him studying her and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Something wrong Duke? Is my hair doing something funny?" Her hands went up to run through it as if to straighten or fix.

"No it's just that… you're not acting like yourself. Did something happen?" Mallory seemed to cringe at the question and looked away from him at the tv. "Mal Mal, please talk to me Sweetheart. I'm only concerned for you."

"I know."

"So what's going on?" He didn't want to say that Wildwing was acting strange too cause it would only close her off to him. He knew his teammates well.

"So many things Duke."

"We've got time to talk. Everyone is asleep." He offered, turning down the volume on the tv, fully prepared to listen.

Mallory smiled a little sadly at him but nodded. "It's that duck I was talking about before. The one I think is involved with those robots but don't have any prof yet…"

"Yeah? Go on."

"He did things to me Duke."

Duke grabbed Mallory's hands in his. "What did he do Mal?" He looked directly into her eyes, searching for an answer that she hadn't given yet.

"In order to better understand, I'll start from the beginning. Back in the Puckworld Special Forces there was a brilliant agent and scientist named Orion Bluebill. He made all kinds of equipment to help other agents on missions. I worked with him a lot. We were close for a while. Real close."

"Real close as in the best of friends or real close as in intimate?"

"Intimate."

Duke cringed realizing now how personal this was for Mallory, if only he truly knew how personal. "So you don't think that he could have been abducted by Dragaunus?"

"I don't know. Maybe? But it wouldn't have been easy Duke. He was a part of the Puckworld Special Forces. He's had training. Duke he is a really good fighter but because of how smart he was, the military thought that he would have been more useful as the lead scientist instead of in the field."

"Wow! That smart?!"

"Yeah he's possibly smarter then Tanya but to top it off he's deadly. Very deadly in combat. If it's him then it's bad Duke and something is telling me that it is. An instinct. I know he's out there, I can feel it, I can feel his eyes on me." Duke felt his feathers stand on end with the way she talked about him. Mallory was really frightened by this guy and that bothered him. He didn't like seeing her scared. "We dated for a while. This was when he was a normal guy. The kind of guy girls would die to date. Incredibly handsome, smart, strong, powerful, sweet, caring, gentle, organized, just all the qualities of a perfect man. But something happened and while we were together he changed. It was during the time he was working as the lead scientist for Puckworld's military. He no longer could see when he crossed the line, right and wrong was no longer a concern to him. Just as long as the outcome was what he wanted." Duke rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles and it calmed her. Steadying her breath, she continued. "Well he crossed the line when he experimented on me." Duke's thumb paused over her knuckles. "I had the military police arrest him but he escaped." She paused thinking about what happened to her. "Let's talk about something else now. This topic gives me a headache."

The question that had been on Duke's mind came out before he could stop it. "What happened to your brother?" Mallory stiffened and turned to look at him. "I'm sorry. It came out before I could stop it." He dropped her hands and Mallory found that she missed the small comfort.

"He died when I was young. It was a car accident. I loved my big brother so much. He was on his way up in the military when a drunk driver hit him and pushed him head on into a building. It had done too much damage to his body, they couldn't stop the bleeding, he died in the hospital. At least I got to say goodbye though." She said. "He was always my hero. He was a good brother, always taking care of me and protecting me. I didn't think I would ever be the same after Winston died."

"I'm sorry Mal."

"Yeah me too." She murmured. Duke wrapped his arms around her and she stiffened again, surprised by the hug he gave her. She relaxed and wrapped her arms back around his and buried her face in his shoulder. Enjoying the comfort his hug granted.

Feeling another presence in the room with them, Duke opened his eyes to find red eyes staring out at them from the darkness. Wildwing was getting better and better at sneaking up on people. The lessons Duke gave him were paying off. He nodded to the younger duck and Wildwing nodded back. A small communication between them, Duke would come and speak to Wildwing later that night. The young leader wanted to know everything that was happening with Mallory and Duke agreed that him knowing was in her best interest. He sunk back into the darkness and went to Drake One. He would want for Duke there to let him know what was going on.

Duke sighed and released Mallory from the hug. "I'm here if you need to talk. We all are. I know Wildwing wishes you would talk to him." Mallory looked at Duke surprised but nodded none the less. He walked away leaving Mallory to think about what he said. _"What would Wildwing think about all of this?"_ She didn't realize he had been watching her interaction with Duke the whole time.

…..

The had just won another game against the Road Island Rattlers. Everyone seemed to be in a pretty good mood so Wildwing had suggested they go out for pizza to celebrate and then a bar after. Going to her room Mallory picked out her clothes for the night out. Everyone was told to dress up for a night out so she wanted to look good. She wanted to tease Wildwing.

She put on a short black tube dress that clung to her like a second skin. Pulling her hair up into a bun on top of her head, she let small strands escape the bun and curl elegantly on the back of her neck and side of her face. Her makeup was in the French cat eye style. She didn't put any jewelry on, wanting to kept her shoulders and neck bare to show more skin. On her wrists were matching bracelets that were ebony crystals and on her feet black shoes that laced up her ankles. To make it more casual she wore a short black leather jacket. Her nails were painted in the traditional French tipped style and instead of squared, they were rounded. She wore a black strapless lace bra that she kept her money and ID in and her panties were a matching lacy thong. She looked good and felt sexy. "Time to go have some fun." She said to the mirror. Turning and walking out to meet the others.

When she got there she was pleased to see everyone was as dressed up as she was. Duke was wearing black slacks and shoes with a dark teal button up shirt that matched the green in their uniforms. He left the top three buttons open and pushed his sleeves back. Nosedive was in similar clothes except he was wearing a dark blue button up shirt that he left open to show the black muscle shirt he was wearing underneath. Tanya was in a dress! This surprised Mallory and she didn't even have to beg her to put it on. It was a dark purple sleeveless dress that clung to her chest and hung nicely on her hips, her hair was in a ponytail and her eye makeup was a light purple that brought out the blue in her eyes. She still had her glasses but she really couldn't go without them, none the less they matched the dress. Grin was wearing dark grey slacks with black boots and black muscle shirt. Wildwing was the only one not there yet. "Wow guys. You all look great." Mallory smiled. Duke and Nosedive whistled at her.

"Speak for yourself Mal Mal." Duke winked at her. Tanya nodded in agreement but seemed a bit upset. Mallory and her were friends but with the way Mallory looked she knew Wildwing would have his eyes on her most of the night. She had been hoping to catch his attention, but secretly not only his attention. She glanced at Duke seeing him joking around with Mallory and felt a little jealous. She also found herself wanting Duke's attention as well. She was so torn between Duke and Wildwing that it was making everything a little confusing. Putting away these thoughts for later Tanya promised herself that tonight she was just going to have fun and not think about the awkward situation she was in with Wildwing, Duke, and Mallory.

Wildwing finally came out to meet everyone and froze seeing his team. Everyone looked great! He smirked but it faded when he saw Mallory. She looked amazing. Once again she was sex on legs personified. He swallowed nervously, wondering how he was going to handling going out with her tonight and keeping his hands to himself. _"Oh wait she's still pissed at me. That's how."_ Wildwing lamented to himself. He tried not to be too obvious with his staring but Duke caught him and smirked.

Duke was laughing on the inside at Wildwing's reaction to Mallory and he had only seen the back of her, wait till he saw the front. He knew he had to get them together out on the dance floor tonight, it was his personal mission. Besides, he needed to sway Tanya's affections towards him. Wildwing had asked for his help with this and he was only too happy to oblige, so tonight his other mission was to seduce Tanya. "Good to see you've made it Wing." Duke smiled as everyone turned to look at Wildwing. He almost tripped on his own feet when he saw how Mallory did her makeup and hair. She was gorgeous.

Mallory let her eyes wonder over Wildwing's attire. He looked really good. He went with black slacks but had a dark purple muscle shirt on. The only thing that ruined it for her was that he was matching Tanya. _"Oh brother. Are they one of those couples?"_ She asked herself sarcastically, even those she knew it was completely unreasonable, she couldn't help but be annoyed by the thought.

"Alright, looks like everyone is ready. Let's go." Wildwing said leading the group out.

…..

At the pizza restaurant, Duke sat in between Tanya and Mallory with a big grin on his face. While Wildwing and Grin sat across from them and Nosedive grabbed a chair to sit at the head of the table with. "Sitting between two beautiful ladies, I couldn't think of a bette way to start the night." He placed his arms around both female's shoulders. Tanya blushed heavily at his comments while Mallory just smirked and called him a Casanova.

Everyone joked around, telling stories and having a good time but there was an unspoken tension in the air. Mallory didn't speak to Wildwing if it could be helped and Tanya kept looking at him and blushing. Wildwing wanted to sigh. This was definitely not how he pictured the night going. Mallory barely spoke to him and Tanya kept watching him. Though he understood why Mallory wasn't speaking to him. He still had yet to make things right with her for grabbing her and being so harsh with her. Maybe he could apologize tonight if she would give him five seconds. The only thing that could have made this worse was if that human showed up.

Once the food was devoured they walked to the night club. Being the famous hockey team they were given immediate entrance to the club despite the line out the door and down the side walk. This club had a more modern vibe to it. Lights flash different colors on the dance floor and most of the club had a dark blue light theme. Its furniture was dark with dark marble tables. The booths were plushy, inviting to the weary dancer who needed to rest. They grabbed a large round table off to the side where a waitress came and took their drink orders. The drinks were brought back and everyone toasted to a successful game. They downed their drinks and Mallory was already in the mood to dance. "Well I'm hitting the dance floor. Tanya? Want to join?" She looked at the blond tech. Tanya seemed a little nervous but nodded and downed the rest of her drink. "Are any of you guys joining?" Mallory asked to be polite.

"In a bit Sweetheart." Duke smirked taking another drink of his whiskey.

Wildwing nodded "Same here. I'm gonna finish my drink first." He tipped his glass to them. Nosedive and Grin however both jumped up at the opportunity to dance. The four joined the crowd on the dance floor, giving Wildwing and Duke the chance to talk.

"She still seems pissed at ya." Duke said, watching the others walk away.

"Oh yeah." Wildwing took another swig of his drink. "Not that I blame her."

"Come on Wing. Don't beat yourself up about it. You got a little emotional cause the woman you want is running around with another guy. Who wouldn't?" Duke shrugged. In his mind there are worse things than yelling at Mallory that Wildwing could have done. Back on Puckworld he ran with a rough group of ducks. The Brotherhood of the Blade had a lot of members with bad tempers. When they got angry it usually ended up with someone getting stabbed. Perhaps his perspective was a little warped but he didn't think yelling at someone was that bad. But it was odd because Mallory was a military girl, she was used to being yelled at, so her being pissed for being yelled at by her leader didn't fit the regular thought pattern of the militaristic duck. Usually it would be like water off a duck's ass. Something else was going on that they didn't know about, it may have to do with this Orion. "I'm not too sure that she's really that pissed because of the yelling thing."

"Yeah she's pissed that I told her she couldn't date that human. She's pissed that I'm trying to control her personal life." Wildwing looked out at the dance floor to see Mallory in the crowd swaying her hips seductively and moving her body to the beat of the music. The way she moved her hips was alluring and sinful. He found his thoughts drifting to other ways she could move her hips.

Wildwing and Duke discussed possible reasons for Mallory's behavior for a little longer before the alluring thought of the females they wished to pursue lead them to discussing dancing. "She wouldn't let me dance with her right now. It'd be instant rejection." Wildwing finished his drink.

"Don't give her the option to say no." Duke said standing up. "Just do it." Duke smirked at his leader and excused himself onto the dance floor. Wildwing watched him go, thinking about what Duke said. Finally, he nodded to himself and went to the dance floor. The music here matched the feel of the club's interior. As Wildwing entered the dance floor, the club started playing "Sexe" by Saez. The song repeated the phrase "It hurts. It feels good." in French over and over.

Mallory had her eyes closed as she danced to the beat. Nosedive had been dancing with her but at a friendly distance. Peaking over her shoulder he saw his brother coming onto the floor toward them. He nodded to him, already knowing that Wing wanted some time with Mallory. Nosedive slipped off to get a drink leaving an unaware Mallory dancing with his brother. Mallory was lost in the music, swinging and twisting her hips gracefully from side to side, arching her back and moving her arms above her head. She felt who she thought was Nosedive move closer to her, not thinking anything of it she continued dancing with her eyes closed. Turning her back to him, she pressed back into him and moved her hips to the music. Large hands came to rest on her waist, holding her close and she opened her eyes to look out across the club. She spotted Nosedive ordering a drink at the bar... Very far from her. The large hands stayed respectfully on her waist, not going any lower or exploring her curves. Pressing back into him a little more she confirmed that it was most likely Wildwing she was dancing with now. When had they traded?

Turning around she looked up at him, staring directly into his eyes. The look in his eyes surprised her. He looked hungry. Like a man starved _. "I can't be reading this right."_ She thought to herself. _"None the less let's have a little fun."_ She backed away a little and he let her, thinking she wanted distance but what she really wanted was for him to be able to see all of her body as she danced. Turning up the heat a full two notches, she worked her body in smooth sexy moments that would leave the most talented of professional dancers impressed. Coming closer she leaned into him, taking his hands and placing them on her body, making sure he could feel her muscles under her clothes as she moved. His breathing had gotten a little heavier as she danced into him, both were getting carried away, not noticing the others watching them.

…..

Tanya turned away from them sadly. Grin had been dancing with her and watching Mallory and Wildwing dance too when he noticed Tanya's sadness. Glancing at the smaller blond duck he couldn't help but feel for her but he smiled when he saw Duke approaching. Tanya didn't realize it but she had another path laid out before her, one that was better fitted. She didn't see it now but soon she would. The large grey duck smiled at Duke, he placed a hand on Tanya's shoulder to get her attention. When she looked up he smile up at Duke again. Turning around she found the other duck on the team that had been on her mind as of recent. Duke smirked his lady killer smirk and took her hand in his, he pulled her close for a more intimate form of dancing, more similar to how Wildwing and Mallory were dancing. Tanya saw Grin join Nosedive at the bar out of the corner of her eye but refocused on Duke when his hand caressed her face. He ran his fingers along her cheek to the side of her soft beak making Tanya blush. She had always thought that Duke was handsome and debonair but he was such a ladies man that it made her shy away from him. No don't he was the kind that would leave a string of broken hearts behind him, hence why she leaned toward Wildwing. Wildwing felt like a safer bet but here she was hurting over him liking Mallory. Did she really misjudge so badly? Was she trying to force something that wasn't really that strong to begin with? If she honestly liked Wildwing so much, then would she even be attracted to Duke like she had always been? The answer was probably not. There was something about Duke that always caught her attention.

Her thoughts were interrupted. When Duke started moving them in a sensual rhythm to the music. Their fronts were pressed into each other, leaving no space for air as they danced around the floor, the color and noise around her was drown out, all she could focus on was Duke. Thoughts of Wildwing and her feelings about him disappeared into a heady haze of grey feathers, swift body movements and one steely grey eye.

…..

Mallory felt herself getting worked up by dancing so close to him. _"Damn him for having such a strong affect me. Let's see what he does when I do this."_ She put distance between them again, this time Wildwing hadn't been as willing to let go. She had him right where she wanted him.

Wildwing watched as her eyes were glinting at him on the dark dance floor, watching him with a sexy tilt of her mouth. She knew what she did to men, she knew what she was doing to him. He felt like as mouse being hypnotized by a snake, teasing him to come forward so that she could strike. She was teasing him and enjoying every minute of it. Suddenly he felt annoyed that she insisted on playing with him, knowing that he wanted her but keeping herself out of his reach. Tired of the games Wildwing grabbed her and pulled her close, Mallory's breath hitched when she felt him press his hips into hers and start moving them to the beat of the music. Taking control, he forced her to follow his dancing. Keeping her close and running his hands along her sides. Mallory felt flushed and dizzy. This was not what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to sit back and watch something that wasn't his and not touch. Why was he touching?! He was messing everything up! Mallory looked up to find Tanya as a possible escape but she had been swept away to the opposite end of the dance floor by Duke. They were dancing just as intimately as she and Wildwing were dancing now. Tanya and Duke both looked a little flushed. Did Wildwing not care? Weren't they together. He looked up at Duke and Tanya and smirked. "Finally."

"What? What do you mean finally? Finally what?" She gasped when Tanya and Duke kissed.

"Finally that." One hand was on her hip, rubbing sensual circles on it that was making her feel a little heady and the other was exploring her curves and rubbing her arm. "Duke has liked Tanya for a while and Tanya unfortunately had a crush on me. I found out when she kissed me and I had to let her down easy. She's been difficult since that happened." Mallory's mind was racing a mile a minute.

" _This whole time I thought he and Tanya were together!"_ Part of her was happy to hear this but another was frustrated, annoyed, and most of all worried.

Realizing that he had no interest in Tanya only made Mallory too aware of his hands all over her. All of a sudden there were no restrains and it made Mallory nervous. She had been teasing him this way as a revenge and it turns out it was for nothing. She felt Wildwing's hands grab at her hips and pull her back into him a little harder. Was it her or was the room getting hotter? He ran one hand across the front of her shoulders and then over her collar bone, letting it trail up her neck, he gently but firmly grabbed her jaw and turned her head to face him. He brought his head down slowly, she could feel his breath over her beak. Her legs felt like they were going to give out on her, so close now. His beak brushed over hers about to press hard into her when someone fell back and almost took them out, Wildwing moved fast and pulled them out of the way. The guy's friends came to collect him off the floor and left.

This had given Mallory the chance to escape Wildwing's arms. "I'm sorry I need to go." She went to run but Wildwing grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Before she could protest, he pressed his mouth against hers, laying a long kiss on her. Her body was on fire. It was sensitive to any part of him that was touching her. She fisted her hands over his thighs, unable to do anything but let him kiss and touch her on the dance floor. She was too dizzy, too flushed. She had to get away, she had to think this through.

Wildwing on the other hand had no intention of letting her do that. His body tingled all over, a hot flush had spread over him and was making him needy of her. His hands pulled at her, keeping her as close to him as possible as they slid over her stomach and hips, making her press back into his hard muscled stomach and chest. He broke the kiss but didn't let her get away from him. She wanted to play with him and make him feel this burning hot desire well he wanted her to feel it too, they would burn together. She twisted in his hold to try and stop the feelings he was causing in her but it ended up making it worse as he hugged her to his chest, kissing her again, harshly this time. Mallory realized that she had lost control of the situation. She finally broke the kiss. "We need to stop. I can't do this Wildiwng."

"Why? You tease me and string me along… for what?" He breathed heavily. "I know you feel something for me and you know I feel something for you. So why fight it?" He traced his thumb along the edge of her beak, making her close her eyes to savor the feeling of his touch. She wanted to protest but the words were stuck in her mouth. While she had her eyes closed Wildwing looked up, a strange instinct telling him to.

An attractive blond human with blue eyes walked into the club with a group of friends. Wildwing's eyes narrowed angrily at the recognizable human over Mallory's shoulder. Jim Holst just walked into the night club with a group of friends.

…..


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Tanya didn't know how it happened. One moment they were dancing the next they were kissing. She felt a panic flooded her chest, making it a little hard to breath. She was making out with Duke out on the dance floor. What if he wasn't serious about her? What if he just wanted a one-time thing? She couldn't do that. Duke was handsome, she had always thought so. Actually she had a crush on him when they first arrived here. Duke was a lady's man though and this worried her, he could hurt her. So she did what was safe and pushed thoughts of him aside, focusing on another crush. She automatically assumed that women like Mallory were more Duke's type. After all…. Mallory was every man's type but here he was kissing her. She lost track of when the kiss started. Her heart beat against her ribcage as she tightened her arms around his neck and his hands slid around the back of her waist. They finally broke the kiss and Tanya felt like she might faint. Duke had that Casanova smirk on his face but he looked a little dazed.

Kissing Wildwing hadn't felt like this. This was something else, way more intense, way more powerful. She never knew she could get light headed from kissing someone before. Of course she knew it could happen but she didn't think she was the kind of duck that could experience such a thing! She felt butterflies in her stomach. Didn't you only feel that kind of thing when you were a kid experiencing young love for the first time? Grant it, she didn't get a lot of boy's attention when she was young, boys always like the cheerleader types but she had two boyfriends and she had butterflies then but not like this. This was… overwhelming.

"What do ya say we grab a water? I'm a little thirsty." Duke asked her trying not to show that his healing side was bothering him. Tanya could only nod as he led her off the dance floor towards Nosedive and Grin. Nosedive was flirting it up with a young woman at the bar while Grin grabbed his water and went to sit at a booth. The booth Grin chose would give him a view where he could keep an eye on the whole club and his teammates while he quietly sipped his water. It was times like this that the pang in his heart rang loudest. His wife loves dancing. He missed her very much but he had to keep a clear head. He would get back to her someday. He knew in his heart he would. Grin smiled as he sat back and thought of being reunited with his beloved again.

His eyes drifted over Duke and Tanya. Tanya's eyes never strayed once from Duke over at Wildwing. Grin was glad for them. His eyes then wandered over the club looking for his captain and the red headed militaristic duck of the team, they widened in surprise when he saw them. Wildwing had Mallory in passionate kiss. He watched Mallory break the kiss and struggle to get away from Wildwing but he pulled her close and kissed her again. They exchanged words that seemed to give Mallory pause but Wildwing looked up and glared over at the door. Grin followed his eyes and found a group of human males walk in. Why would Wildwing glare at a group of humans like that? His leader had never shown distaste for them before. If anything Wildwing was really kind and accepting of others. So why was he looking at them like that? Glancing at Duke he saw him at the bar with Tanya. Grin got up and made his way over to them. Perhaps one of this teammates would know what this was about.

…..

He didn't want to deal with this tonight. He wanted to grab Mallory and drag her out of sight, keeping her hidden from Jim and Jim hidden from her. Wildwing's eyes glared heatedly across the dance floor at his rival. The lovely red headed mallard followed his eyes to the completely unaware Jim. Jim was laughing and talking with friends as they approached the bar. Her eyes widened, she looked back at Wildwing to see his gaze now had snapped to her, waiting to see what she would do. His soft brown irises turned cold and hard, like the time she went to see Jim and he stopped her. It occurred to her now that he was in fact jealous of her seeing someone else. She had been so angry at him. The whole time, all the little hints he was dropping went completely unnoticed because she thought he was with Tanya.

Wait! It didn't matter. She couldn't be with him right now anyway. Orion was still out there! If he found out that something was happening between her and Wildwing then he would kill him. Mallory stepped away from him, his eyes harden even more. "I'm sorry I can't do this right now." She whispered.

If he hadn't been studying her so closely he would have missed what she said. "Tell me why? Is it because of him? That human?"

He was angry. He had every right to be but she was overwhelmed. She couldn't deal with this right now. She needed to think, her body was burning up from his touches. Mallory didn't answer his question. He went to reach for her but she turned and left the dance floor. Wildwing watched her walk away, clenching his fists to stop himself from going after her. This talk wasn't over.

…..

She was almost to the exit when a hand wrapped around her wrist, halting her progress of escape. She turned thinking it was Wildwing only to see Jim smiling at her.

"Mallory! I didn't realize you came to this club." He let go of her wrist. "Well now that I have you, want to grab a drink?"

She thought about it then nodded, letting Jim grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers while leading her to the bar. She couldn't help but noticed how it didn't feel right. He had an extra finger that made holding his hand feel awkward. Studying their intertwined hands for a moment, she looked at how his hand had five digits while hers only had four. The small differences between humans and ducks made her wonder what else was different for them. This lead her thoughts back to Wildwing.

She searched the club but didn't see Wildwing anywhere. A little relieved she sighed as Jim led her through the crowds of people. Once at the bar, Jim ordered them a drink and made small talk while he waited. "So it's been a little while since I've seen you. What have you been up to beautiful?"

Mallory smiled at him, automatically falling into comfortable conversation with him. "Oh you know the usual. Getting chased by robots. Saving the world." Jim laughed and tipped the bar tender for their drinks. He handed Mallory hers and raised his glass up.

"Well here's to saving the world." They toasted and sipped on the sweet alcoholic beverages.

Once they talked for a while Jim asked Mallory to dance which she accepted. Out on the dance floor, they danced close but not like Wildwing had danced with her. Mallory made sure to keep a decent distance between them, her body was still burning from Wildwing's touch.

Closing her eyes, trying to erase the memory of his touch, only to feel Jim's hands on her. She turned to talk to him until she spotted Wildwing's form from the other side of the dance floor. He stalked around the floor, keeping his eyes on Jim and her. Mallory had never seen him look at her like that before. It worried her. She felt hunted.

Wildwing descended into the crowd, alcohol fueling his actions. Mallory watched him coming straight for her and Jim. He looked ready for a fight and Mallory's heart leapt into her throat but he's progress was stopped by Tanya. She moved in front of him and said a few words. He looked over at Mallory but Tanya placed a hand on his face gently turning his head to make him look at her. Instead of relief that a fight was diverted, Mallory felt her heart ache. Though she now knew that he liked her, it still bothered her since Tanya wanted Wildwing. Tanya lead him away and he didn't look at Mallory once, the blond took him to the furthest part of the dance floor. Mallory watched out of the corner of her eye to see what they would do. She turned away when she saw them start dancing together.

Jim distracted her with some sort of funny comment that had her smiling again. Trying to ignore the way Wildwing and Tanya were dancing as she danced a little closer to Jim. Her eyes scanned the club and she found Duke, Grin and Nosedive at a booth talking and laughing. Seeing that they weren't watching her, her eyes discretely went back to see what Wildwing and Tanya were doing. Tanya had her hands rubbing up and down Wildwing's arms and his hands were on her waist. Normal dancing but just a little flirtier on Tanya's part, until Tanya turned around and pressed her butt into Wildwing's hips. He seemed surprised but she placed a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him into her. He went with it and his hands went down to her hips as they danced more intimately.

Mallory couldn't handle it anymore. "You okay Mallory?" Jim asked, seeing that she wasn't enjoying dancing as much as she was before.

"Yeah." She looked over to the nearest exit. "I think I just need some fresh air."

"Sure. I'll take ya." He offered like a gentleman.

"No it's fine. I just need a moment."

Jim nodded a little confused at the sudden change. "Oh. Okay well I'll be with some of my friends at the bar." He watched her curiously, wanting to know what was wrong. Was it something he did?

"Thanks. I'll just be a second." She turned and left the dance floor. Not wanting to look back and see Wildwing dancing with Tanya. She could feel eyes on her, several pairs in fact, she just couldn't tell whose it was. Most likely some of her teammates and Jim were wondering where she was going but she didn't want to risk looking and making eye contact. Eye contact was generally an invite for communication, she just needed her solitude right now to clear her head. Clenching her fists, she made a bee line for the exit, swaying her hips as she walked through the long hallway that lead to the entrance of the club, catch more than a few stares. When she was finally out in the cool air she breathed a sigh of relief.

The walls felt like they had been closing in around her. Tonight had revealed far more then she was actually ready for. People loudly talked and whined in the long line leading out of the club, girls giggling while boys checked them out and guys strutting, trying to impress the girls. It was all very annoying at this moment. Needing to be further from the hormone filled air, Mallory decided a walk around the block was in order. The sound of her heels clicked sharply on the side walk, her feet taking her in some random direction without her knowledge or consent. Slowly letting the knowledge of Wildwing's confession sink in. He liked her. The way she wanted him to but she was frightened. Not about him liking her but about what could happen now that she knew he did. All this time she had been angry that she thought he and Tanya were together. However, that dancing they were doing back there hadn't exactly been innocent. Was he going to Tanya because he thought she had rejected him? It had bothered her greatly. Whatever, point is that if she had known back then that he liked her, she would have been ecstatic but Orion was in the picture now and that complicated everything. She couldn't be close to anybody with him near.

Suddenly it occurred to Mallory that she didn't hear the sound of the crowd outside the club anymore, actually the only sound in the area was the sound of her heels clicking on the pavement. Stopping in her tracks she looked around herself. It was too quiet. She could feel eyes on her though, not just any eyes… his eyes.

Heavy booted footsteps caught her attention. Her head snapped in the direction it was coming from, a dark alley. The louder the footsteps got the more she could make out a figure coming toward her, narrowing her eyes to get a glimpse at the developing silhouette. Broad shoulders and a strong neck lead up to a familiar face that was still shrouded in darkness. Orion…

Mallory's eyes widened in panic. His hand reached out for her and she took a step back. She could run but he would chase her down and she was too far to get help. Her best option was to try and fight. "Mallory." His voice was a whisper but like liquid velvet brushing over her skin. She shivered. "I have come for you."

"Mallory! Where are you!?" Duke called from down the street. Mallory yelped hearing someone call for her. Hearing her yelp, Duke ran to her, rounding a corner to find her alone. "I heard you. Are you alright?" He took in her shaken appearance.

She turned her eyes back to where Orion had been. He was gone. Searching her surroundings, she couldn't find him anywhere. "Yeah I'm okay." Her voice shook as she spoke. Duke was completely unconvinced but chose to keep quiet, his eyes searched the area, looking for anything or anyone that would have spooked her. Nothing.

"Come on. Let's go back to the club. The others are wondering where you went."

"Yeah. Sure. O-of course." She turned on her heels quickly and speed walked back to the club. She didn't want to do anything anymore for the night. She just wanted to go home. It was official now, Orion Blubill was here.

…..

Orion glared at the duck that had interrupted them. He was so close. Just a little bit closer and he would have had her. She would have been trapped in his arms and he could have disappeared with her. He could have used the mind control but it would have caused a scene and she would have been dragged away by her teammates. Activating the device in her neck for such a thing caused great pain. She would have fallen to her knees and screamed in the middle of public, not very discrete. The device could have been better but he was limited by the inferior technology on this planet. If only he were on Puckworld, the device would work flawlessly with their technology. One no would even know the mind control was switched on unless they looked at her eyes.

"No matter. She will be in my hands soon enough." He muttered to himself, smirking as he thought about how he had made love to her down in there base when he last used the mind control on her. He had enjoyed her for hours. It was a shame that activating the mind control didn't let her remember these moments. It had been beautiful.

Soon he wouldn't have to sneak around, she would be his to take whenever he wanted. They would start their life together and she would give him many children. Just like he always wanted. "I think it's time to start moving things along a little more... aggressively." The unfairly handsome but insane duck disappeared into the darkness surrounding him. Like a ghost.

…..

Walking back to the club, Mallory was finally able to slow her pounding heart. She felt sick to her stomach, knowing he was here.

"You wanna tell me what's goin on?" Duke asked quietly.

"I was him. Orion. He came for me tonight." Duke paused and turned to her abruptly.

"You're sure it was him?"

"Yes." She would know him anywhere.

"Damnit." Duke muttered, looking down he noticed Mallory's shaking fists. His eyes traveled back up to her face to see it completely neutral. "Your trembling."

"Of course I am. I'm scare Duke." She seemed so vulnerable. Duke hated it. He hated that this guy did things to Mallory that frightened her. He hated that she felt like no one could protect her from him, that she felt like she was alone in this.

"We won't let him get to you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Duke." She said walking back into the club. He watched her go, a slow rage building inside of him. If he ever met this Orion face to face… it wouldn't be pretty. Taking a big breath, he calmed himself, not wanting the others to see the anger simmering just below the surface of his skin. He walked back into the club following Mallory, he was not going to let her out of his sight for the rest of the night.

…..

Going back into the club Mallory found Nosedive and Grin were seated at a table in the back. While Wildwing and Tanya were still out on the dance floor, pressed up against each other. Mallory went right to the bar to order another drink. One was given to her quickly and Duke appeared next to her, ordering himself a water. Someone had to be sober.

"Don't wander too far from one of us for the rest of the night Mal."

"I know Duke. I just want to go home at this point."

"Do you want me to take you?" Duke offered.

"Honestly, it's probably not safe for just two of us but yeah let's get out of here." She downed her drink and paid.

"Alright, let me tell the others. Please Mal. I' begging ya, don't move from this spot." She nodded and Duke walked over to their table, where Gin and Nosedive sat. She watched them converse for a second. Both ducks seemed a little confused but nodded. Mallory was making sure she had everything until a hand on her shoulder scared her. She jumped and turned to the hand. Jim looked at her worriedly.

"Wow. Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? What happened?" He stepped back, a little surprised at her reaction. Placing his hands on her arms, he rubbed them comfortingly.

"Oh Jim, I'm sorry. I've got to go. Something came up that I need to take care of."

"Well do you need me to take you home? I'd be more than happy to."

"It's okay. One of my teammates is going with me, so I won't be alone." She smiled at him.

"Alright beautiful. Well then give me a call soon. Let me know you're okay."

"I will. We'll get together and I'll explain in more detail what's going on." She promised, giving him a meaningful look. Jim brighten considerably hearing this. He gave her an enchanting smile.

"It's a date." He laughed and gave her a hug goodbye.

Once he went to join his friends, Duke appeared magically behind her. Mallory didn't need to look to know it was Duke, she was still staring at Jim, wishing she could have had more fun tonight. Jim probably would have been a blast to hung out with at night clubs but it just wasn't meant to be tonight. Duke gave Jim a strange look but then looked back at Mallory, seeing her still looking at Jim. "Everything seems to be fine and dandy with him." He jerked his head at Jim. "He's not upset that your leaving?"

"Jim's very understanding."

"Alright well let's get outta here." He put his hand at Mallory's back and lead her through the crowd. When they were outside, Duke hailed a taxi and gave the guy the destination. In the car Duke sat close to her. "I didn't tell them what this was about. I figured that it wasn't my place."

"What did you tell them?" She studied his profile.

"Just that you and I were leaving." He looked out the window at the route they were taking home, making sure it was the fastest one. "Nosedive was giving us both pretty odd looks. Grin just nodded. I didn't see Wing and Tanya but they said they would let them know we left together."

Mallory nodded and looked out the window. "Thank you for coming with me." Duke seemed surprised by her thanking but smiled at her none the less.

"No problem Sweetheart." He put an arm around her shoulders and Mallory leaned into him. He was surprised again that she accepted a physical from of comfort from him. She was doing that a lot more nowadays. He briefly wondered for a moment what if he chose to pursue Mallory, but shook the thought off. Wildwing had his heart sent on Mallory and Duke clashed too much with her, it would never have worked out between them.

"Saw you and Tanya kissing tonight." She said in a teasing voice, distracting him from his thoughts. "You an item or something?"

"Ha ha, tryin ta be." He smirked. "If only she would get over her damn crush on Wing."

Mallory laughed outright on that. "Yeah with the way they were dancing tonight I'd say you have your work cut out for you." Duke grunted, he had seen the way Tanya was dancing with Wing. He didn't particularly like it but he was still trying to charm her. If anything he was wondering why Wing was dancing with Tanya like that when _**he**_ asked Duke to steer Tanya's affections away from him. He was making it a little difficult by doing that. Duke glanced at Mallory laying into his side. It probably had to do with Mallory running away from Wing on the dance floor. He had seen how his leader had been all over her, even how he had kissed her but Mallory ran. A question had been bothering him all night. Why did she run? Cause from what he could tell, she liked it.

"Mal Mal. Why did you run away from Wildwing when he kissed you?" Mallory tensed. "I could see that you liked it. When you talked about Wing and Tanya dancing there was a bitterness there. Your jealous but you're the one that ran from him. Why if you like him? And don't lie I know you do like him Mal."

She was caught. "Nothing gets passed you huh Sweetheart?" She used his own line on him. He didn't answer only waited for hers. "It's because I like him that I run from him."

"I don' understand." His Brooklyn accent was thick.

"Orion. If Orion finds out that I care for him then he'll kill him. And he can kill him. I can't be too close to anyone Duke. Not right now." She whispered to him. Duke understood now. Mallory was just trying to protect them from a psychopath. Again Duke felt anger for this Orion, who was making Mallory's life difficult at the moment.

"I see now. You need to tell Wildwing."

"I can't Duke."

"He's confused. Mallory you know how much he wants to be with you. It's not fair to put him through this. You've gotta tell him. Besides in his confusion he might do something he regrets." Mallory's head turned sharply to look up at Duke's face.

"Like what?"

"Like try to establish a relationship elsewhere because he's hurt." Duke offered.

If he did that then she would never go to him. Mallory sighed, she was about to retort but they arrived at the Pond. Trying to distract herself she thought about Orion. Maybe she should just make a run for it? The thought had crossed her mind before. She could take a duck cycle and catch a plane to anywhere else in the world but the idea was demolished almost as soon as it formed. If anything her being away from her teammates would only make it too easy for him to get to her. He had found her in another dimension! Just hopping over to another continent wasn't going to keep him away. He would find her, like he always did.

Duke took her in his hand fingering his saber hidden on his person as he walked her to the front doors of the Pond. He never went anywhere without his saber. Once Mallory was in her room safe and sound, he went to his to rest. His side was hurting him anyway.

…..

That night Mallory laid in her bed, contemplating multiple things. One was Wildwing and his affections. The other was Orion and the twisted thing he thought was love. Thoughts of him only served to unsettle her. She needed to think of something else or she would find no sleep. Rolling onto her side she stared at her alarm clock, it was 3am. Flipping open her com, she checked the others locations, they were still at the bar. At least that is what their coms said when she looked at their location. Wildwing's and Tanya's were still next to each other, probably still dancing while Nosedive's and Grin's were close together but not quite next to each other. Most likely drinking or dancing with girls. Closing it, she flopped over onto her back again. She didn't feel safe, even in their base. She felt like he already had his talons in her, it was a horrible feeling. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong but she didn't listen. Instead she turned her mind to other matters. Like the differences between humans and Puckworldians.

Distracting herself she thoughts of when they had first arrived here on Earth and learned about this world's culture. One of the differences she and Tanya found out about when they got here, was that women weren't given equal pay to men on this planet. She and Tanya had been infuriated when they got the contract from Phil showing everyone's pay. They had both stormed into Phil's office while he had been in a meeting with Wildwing. Both were stunned to see Mallory kick the door in, slam the contract down on his desk and demand and answer for their lower pay. Wildwing looked at the contract and looked up a Phil for an explanation. Phil had explained that this was the way things were done here, women didn't get paid as much as men. To which Mallory and Tanya refused to play. Phil tried to threaten to have other players brought in but Wildwing interrupted and told him that none of them would play if the girls didn't get the same treatment as the guys. Phil's hand was forced and that was the end of it.

On Puckworld, males and females were equal in everything. Puckworldians had never committed crimes against their own kind like the humans did. It was only after a few months on Earth that the ducks had found out about the many atrocities that humans had committed against their own because of ignorance and greed. But that was their past and humans were getting better. She thanked her stars that she was born on Puckworld. It brought her back to the differences between humans and Puckworldians, as she stared at her hand, thinking about when she had held Jim's.

In terms of attraction, Jim was attractive. He made her smile, laugh, and she found him cute but the attraction that she had to Wildwing was overwhelmingly strong. In the end Jim would never match up, he was just a distraction, a replacement. She realized that this was wrong of her to see him as such. She wouldn't want someone to look at her like that. So she shouldn't do that to Jim, she couldn't. He's a good man, he deserves better than that. She sighed and she dropped her hand to her comforter. She rolled over onto her side again, she closed her eyes determined not to think about any of this for the rest of the night.

…..

Wildwing and Tanya finally joined the others at the table. She smiled at him, happy that he had danced with her for so long and so close but she did it to avoid a fight. She had enjoyed dancing with Wildwing but not as much as she had with Duke. She realized now that she was more attracted to Duke then Wildwing. That Duke kissing her and making her feel what she felt wasn't something she could get from just any guy. She looked around trying to spot the suave dark feathered duck. Hoping that he didn't read too much into her dancing with Wildwing, in the end that's all it was, dancing.

"Tearing up the dance floor bro?" Nosedive asked, sipping on his cocktail, a slight slur to his words.

"Yeah... Where's Mallory and Duke?" Wildwing scanned the club but couldn't find them anywhere. Jim and his friends were still at the bar but Mallory wasn't with him. Not that he minded that.

"Oh yeah! I knew I was forgetting something!" Nosedive snapped his fingers like a light bulb went off. "They left together."

"They what?" Tanya asked a little alarmed. _"Duke left with Mallory?"_

Wildwing knew that Duke had his eyes on Tanya, so he didn't think they had left to go fool around.

"Yeah! I told him not to go burying his duck dog without protection." Nosedive said stirring his drink. Tanya fidgeted in her seat while Wildwing cuffed his brother on the back of the head in reprimand.

Deciding now would be a good time, Grin intervened. "She seemed nervous when she came back in with Duke. Almost as if she was shaken. I believe Duke was taking her home because he was worried about her."

Now Wildwing felt uncomfortable, was it what he did? He shifted in his seat next to Dive while Tanya tapped her hand on the table in a nervous habit, wanting to know what was wrong that Mallory and Duke had to leave. Wildwing leaned back in his chair. "Well guys, I'm actually pretty beat. We've been here for a couple of hours. What do you say we call it a night?" Everyone nodded except for Nosedive who wanted to party all night but was too drunk to anyway. Helping Dive up, they went outside, hailed a taxi and went home.

…..


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

The Pond's halls were empty in the early hours of the morning. Everyone was asleep, everyone except for the leader of the Mighty Ducks, Wildwing. He was in the kitchen, drinking some tea. Trying to figure out a plan of attack with Mallory. Stirring the tea, watching the leaves in the small bag flutter about and settle, then repeated the process. This was how Phil found him. "Wildwing, boobie!"

Wildwing sighed, he just woke up and already Phil wanted something. "What is it Phil?" He asked in an annoyed voice, knowing he was not going to like the answer.

"Look tomorrow, there this charity event going on at the Anaheim park. We've been asked to show up and help represent it."

"What's the charity?"

"It's for sick kids in the nearby hospital. A fund raiser for them." Phil sat down at the table across from Wing. Wildwing was a little stunned. It was actually something meant to help others, not something to make money off of. Was this really Phil Palmfeather? Seeing the strange stare he was getting, Phil got a little huffy. "What'd ya looking at me like that for?"

"Nothing… It's just it's an actual charity event. I'm surprised… and strangely proud of you."

"That's right Wildwing, I am charitable. And when this gets out we'll be all over the newspapers! It'll be loads of publicity!" The fat manager stood up and walked out of the kitchen talking about ways to use this to make money.

Wildwing growled in annoyance, disappointed with Phil again. "Of course it's about money." Getting out of the chair he pushed it in and walked back to his room with his tea in hand. Slowly sipping the hot beverage to help wake himself up. He was more of morning person usually but today he woke up on the wrong side of the nest. The first thing to enter his mind was Mallory and her running away last night. He knew he was the cause of her leaving, kissing her was a mistake, she wasn't ready. He spent many hours last night staring up at his ceiling thinking about what happened and her reaction. Walking through the many twists and turns that made up part of their underground home, he rounded the final corner to his room and stopped, seeing Mallory there waiting for him.

Hearing his footsteps suddenly stop, she turned to look at him. "Wildwing." She seemed nervous and she wasn't someone to display such emotions. Usually she was able to keep her tough front up but it seems she was still affected by last night.

"Mallory." He answered in a colder voice then he meant to. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "What's up?"

She shifted from foot to foot with her arms crossed over her chest. "We need to talk… in private." Her eyes shifted to his room unconsciously, quickly looking back to him in an unsettled manner. She seemed shifty. It was odd.

He sighed, not sure he was ready for this talk first thing in the morning but none the less, she was here asking to speak with him. Not like he could really say no. "Sure. If you don't mind that we talk in my room?" She seemed relieved and shook her head, indicating that this was fine. Holding his hand out offering her to go first, she nodded her thanks and walked in with him following behind her. His eyes traveled down her slender body to her tight butt as she walked. Forcing his eyes back up to the back of her head, he waited for her to start. At first she seemed like she wouldn't but finally she turned around and spoke.

"About last night…." She paused, not sure how to go on. Wildwing tensed. "Something's happened." He waited patiently for her to go on, the muscles in his shoulders grew even more taunt. "…. Orion is here."

That was not what he was expecting but a shock none the less. "What happened?" He asked in a serious voice, all thoughts of the awkwardness between them gone, now here stood the imposing leader of the team.

"He confronted me outside. I walked out for a minute, wanting some fresh air to clear my head and he came out of the alley. He told me he had come for me. He was about to reach for me when Duke yelled my name and came down the sidewalk. When I turned back he was gone." She didn't look at him as she explained.

"You took your eyes off him?" He scolded, not liking that this duck was actually after Mallory but that she knew how dangerous he was and didn't keep her eyes on him. He could have done something to her. Everything that Duke knew about Orion, Wildwing knew but he could tell that Mallory hadn't told them everything. Just the minimum amount that she needed to. "We need to have a long talk about Orion Bluebill and you need to tell me everything." She cringed at the tone of Wildwing's voice. "You can start now." He crossed his arms over his chest.

She sighed, knowing that she couldn't hid this from him forever. "Orion Bluebill as you know was a PSF officer. He used to work with me out on missions for the PSF but with how smart he was, they thought his skills would be put to better use as the lead scientist in the PSF. He had a very promising career ahead of him. Before this all happened, we had been dating. Orion was perfectly normal back then. Actually he was almost the perfect guy. Smart, fun, funny, sweet, extremely handsome. Most girls would have loved to date him but something happened while working down in those labs. I don't know what changed him but with him working in the labs and me being out in the field, I found that I was being pulled out onto more and more missions. So I was gone a lot and he didn't like it. It drove him crazy that he couldn't be out there with me, he said that he should be there beside me in case something goes wrong but the PSF wouldn't let him go back out on missions. They considered him too valuable to let him put himself in danger. So he protected me by inventing equipment and gear that would keep me safe on the job." She hugged herself and shifted from foot to foot. "Orion was great until I found out about his obsession with me. It was an accident when I stumbled upon his files. I saw my name on one and took a look. What I found was that he had been experimenting on me."

Wildwing was furious to hear Mallory have been used as a genepig, didn't this guy care about her at all? "What did he have in the file? What did he do to you Mallory?" He asked gently.

Mallory didn't want to tell him but it was best that he knew the kind of madness he was dealing with. "This doesn't leave this room. Right?" She turned away from him pacing back and forth.

"I give you my word. No one will ever hear this from my beak." He didn't take his eyes off her. Glancing at him from the side of her eye she knew he wouldn't say a word. He was honorable like that.

"I found videos and pictures of me sleeping, eating, exercising, even bathing. But what was worse was that I found files and studies of procedures where he took eggs from me when I was sleeping. He wanted my raw DNA. He mixed our DNA to try and grow a child outside of my womb!" She finally turned to look at him to see the look of horror on Wildwing's face. "The experiment failed but he went to the next thing, cloning. He managed to grow a clone of me but it was dead, he was still trying to figure out how to give it life when I confronted him about it. He tried to say that he was doing it for us but I didn't want to hear a word he said, the more he spoke the crazier he sounded to me. So I ran right the military police and had him arrested. The experiments he had been doing were illegal and he would have faced at least twenty years in prison. But I wasn't there for the arrest and I should have been. I just couldn't face him, face what he did. Couldn't face how he violated me and my trust. Orion wasn't just smart Wildwing, he's an incredible fighter. So the men taking him in didn't stand a chance. If I was there then he wouldn't have escaped and disappeared along with his experiments. It's my fault he's still out there."

He didn't know what to say to that. It was all pretty messed up. Honestly, who would want to face that again? He looked down in thought, glaring at the floor. This Orion was really pissing him off and he hadn't even met the guy.

Mallory glanced up at Wildwing. He was lost in thought. She knew he was upset about last night and now was probably not the time to talk to him about their feelings. Especially when she had just revealed so intimate and horrible details of her past with Orion but she needed him to know. "Wildwing, about last night… with us…" He looked up at the mention of last night and waited patiently for her to explain, still in his leader role. "I wasn't trying to reject you." She looked directly in his eyes, watching the hard brown irises stare down at her, waiting for an explanation. "Since I've suspected that he was here I've been trying to distance myself from everyone. He can't know about your affections for me or he'll go after you. Even worse, he can't know that I have feelings for you or he'll kill you." Realization lite his brown eyes as they searched her face for any hints of deception. When he didn't find any his eyes softened.

"That's the reason I've tried to keep everyone at a distance." She said before he could offer any words of comfort. "I went on a date with a guy back on Puckworld. He was in the military. It was how we met… but Orion found out. Not even a week after our first date, he was found in his bed with his throat cut open. It was Orion. He had left a note just for me at my apartment afterwards." Wildwing knew it was bad but this was sick and twisted.

"We'll stop him Mallory." He understood why she was so afraid for him now. Mallory was just trying to protect him and the team the only way she could. Wildwing felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders only to be replaced by another one. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Did you feel what I felt when we kissed?"

"Yes." He smiled hearing her answer. "But we still can't be together." She added.

"Not in public." He took a step toward her.

"No not at all." Mallory corrected.

"What?! Mallory he can't see what's happening down here. There's no reason that we can't be together and just keep it between ourselves." Closing the distance between them, he wanted to touch her, wanted to give her comfort, wanted to feeling her soft skin and feathers. His hands gently took her upper arms and pulled her close. Mallory placed her hands on his chest to keep distance as she looked up at him. He leaned his head down, bring their beaks close. Mallory felt that heady rush that she got at the night club when he was dancing with her. "What should we do with our feelings then?"

"Ignore them. Push them aside. We can't be together." She said a little breathlessly pressed her hands into his chest.

"Ever?" He pulled her closer.

She craned her head back to look up at him without her beak being pressed into his. "Possibly."

"I don't accept that." He looked down her, unwilling to let her walk away when she had just confessed that she felt for him what he felt for her.

She pushed away from him, surprising him with her strength and causing him to let her go. "You don't have to accept anything. That's the way it's going to be." She turned and walked out of his room before he could say anything else. His hand was outstretched to reach for her as the door closed behind her. The distance that was between them wasn't as far as he had originally thought but she was beyond stubborn. Frustrated and a little infuriated, he growled as he fell back on his bed. She had to make it complicated. This woman was going to drive him insane.

…..

At practice at 11am, everyone was running drills, working on their speed and accuracy. When moving on to a practice game, he watched Mallory a little more frequently. She went about the rest of the morning acting like their conversation didn't happen. It bothered the hell out of him and he had more questions. Like about Jim Holst. Was she going to still see him even though Orion was out there watching? It seemed unfair to put the human at risk. If Orion thought they had something going on wouldn't he go after him too?

Part of him did think that putting the human in danger wasn't right but honestly he didn't want her going on a date with him again. So her argument benefited him in this purpose and he was going to use her 'logic' against her to his benefit. He wanted Jim Holst out of the picture. It was selfish but he wasn't going to be pushed aside by anyone. Not Jim, not Orion, not anyone. Just like he had promised his mother. He found who he wanted and he wasn't going to let her go.

Nosedive brought the puck up the rink, taking a shot at the net. Wilding threw his leg out and blocked it. Duke swept in and took the puck back down the ice and started the next match over.

…..

Over in Sunnyville, in a large house out in the woods, Orion paced the room that he currently used as his study. She was so close just a little longer and he would have been able to make off with her. It didn't matter, he would get his hands on her soon enough.

The was a yelp that came from downstairs. He turned his head towards where the sound come from. The basement. This house was the perfect place for him to work out of. The human living here was old, had been living by himslf, and didn't go out for days on end. No one would suspect a thing when they didn't emerge from the house in days. The robots babysat him and kept the old man feed, so he didn't have to be concerned with him. He should just kill him, but he didn't want to deal with that stink.

Turning his mind back to his beloved. He looked down the hall to his borrowed bedroom, remembering that he had new pictures to add to his wall. Not to mention some that he personally wanted to give to Mallory. Smirking he grabbed the camera and made his way down to the dark room in the basement where he developed his photographs.

…..

Back at the Pond, practice was over and everyone had changed into their regular clothes. Wildwing and Mallory filled Tanya in on what was going on, sparing some of the details of course. She had been shocked. They were even more surprised to hear what Tanya knew about him. Apparently, Orion Bluebill was the talk of the tech world.

"He even made a planetary force field to keep invaders out!"

"Then how did Dragaunus get in?" Wildwing asked.

"Many speculate about it. Some say the military didn't think it was necessary, others say it was shut down from the inside to let Dragaunus in. But no one really knows." Tanya looked to be off in thought as she said this, as if trying to figure it out herself. "I can't believe that you're the PSF officer that he was in love with Mallory! The girls around the base talked about him all the time, wondering and whispering about who the lucky woman was. He was supposed to be a real catch! When he just disappeared one day, nobody knew what happened to him. It was a big mystery. Everyone thought that he had been abducted."

"If only." Mallory muttered. Wildwing cleared his throat to get Tanya back on track.

"Oh sorry. Uh okay, let's see if we can find him with Drake One."

Drake One scanned Sunnyville for possible locations that Orion could be hiding. It would be something secluded so that he can work uninterrupted and he would need a lot of space but that didn't narrow down their options enough. There were at least fifty places that he could be. Trying to track him down by going place to place was inefficient, they needed to find something unique.

"What about those robots that jumped on the plane? Is there any way to trace where they have been?" Wildwing suggested. They had one robot's head that had been on the outside of the plane when it crashed and the robot that had protected Mallory. It was mostly intact, only missing its arms which Tanya cut off.

"Maybe. If we can upload their data into Drake One then we could get a possible fix on his location." Tanya said grabbing one of the robot's heads and getting ready to link it with Drake One so that they could open it up and analyze it.

"Wait!" Mallory stopped Tanya before she could connect it to Drake One. "Don't do it with Drake One." Tanya looked at Mallory confused and Wildwing raised an eyebrow at her. "I know Orion. It's what he would want Tanya. If we link this with Drake One, we could be giving him access to it."

Tanya's and Wildwing's eyes widened in understanding. "Right. I can hook this up to one of my separate computers down in the lab. It doesn't have anything on it that he could use against us." They walked down to Tanya's lab and set it up there. Once everything was set, Tanya started hacking into the robot's program but just as Mallory said, the moment Tanya started hacking, she got hacked instead. It only took minutes and she was able to fight it for a while but Orion's programing won out and over took her system. Tanya was in stunned disbelief. "I don't believe it. I was out hacked!" Once the computer was hacked and nothing of value was found, a duck skull and bones appeared on the screen. The screen glitched out, changing colors and patterns quickly, then speeding up until the computer started sparking.

"Look out!" Wildwing grabbed Tanya out of the chair and put both females behind himself. Pulling up his ice shield just in time to protect them from the computer exploding. When the smoke cleared the actual robotic head was laughing but soon died out, due to the damage it took from being next to the exploding computer.

Turning his shield off, Wildwing sighed at the mess. "Well at least it wasn't Drake One. Good catch Mallory." He looked at the red head, who was glaring at the now destroyed robot but turned to him and nodded.

"Well, I guess that's not going to work. I'm going to actually have to go into one robot's head and reprogram it like I did with Brawn." Tanya dusted her shoulder off from some ash that landed on it.

Mallory almost laughed, seeing Wildwing's eye twitch at the mention of Brawn. It was well known that Wildwing found Brawn's personality annoying, clearly he was worried this robot would be the same. "Will it be anything like Brawn?" Mallory had to ask. Her leader glanced over at her, making a face to show his displeasure at the idea.

"No, these things don't have a personality. All I'm going to do is reprogram it take orders from me and it will lead us to Orion."

"Then do it." As soon as this robot was ready, they were going after Orion.

Tanya had reprogramed the robot in thirty minutes. When it was done it sat up suddenly, it's head twitching to the right every couple of seconds. Its eyes focused on Mallory and it started twitching even more. Wildwing stepped in front of her to block its view of her. After she was out of its line of sight, it stopped twitching and stood up.

"It's ready." Tanya turned to Wildwing. He opened his com and told Duke, Nosedive, and Grin to stop working on the Aerowing and to meet at the Migrator. Tanya moved in front of the armless robot to give it commands. "Your orders are to take us to Orion Bluebill." The robot didn't answer, it just stared at Tanya.

"Did it work?" Mallory asked, looking around Wildwing's side, once again in the machines line of sight. The robot started twitching again, it's eyes zeroing in creepily on Mallory. Clearly she was a main priority in its programing.

Wildwing pushed her back behind him. "Don't let it see you Mallory. It's fighting Tanya's programing." He glanced over his shoulder at her to make sure she was out of sight, then looked back to Tanya. "Lead it out Tanya. We'll follow from behind."

"Oh uh okay. Follow me." Tanya instructed. The sliver machine turned and walked out behind her obediently, its metal feet clicking on the ground as it walked. Once Tanya was out of ear shot Wildwing spoke.

"Are you okay? Being in the Migrator with that thing?" He didn't want to put her in there if she was uncomfortable.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Mallory said walking beside him.

"You're sure you're up for this?" Wildwing asked, gaze down at her as they walked down the long hallway to the Migrator.

"I'm sure. I need to do this because I didn't last time and he got away. I won't do that again." She looked up at him, their eyes connecting, an understanding passing between them. The look of understanding soon turned into them just gazing at each other for longer than necessary and this was how Tanya found them when she turned around to check that they were still following her.

Funny enough, it didn't bother Tanya at all that they were just gazing at each other longingly. If anything she actually smiled at the strange intimacy and shared looks between them. Her thoughts were solely focused of Duke now. _"I have to talk to him. I need to know if he actually feels something for me."_ Tanya promised herself that tonight when they got back she would. No more games just answers.

They joined the others in the garage and gathered into the Migrator. Mallory was always staying behind the robot and out of its line of sight.

…..

Orion finished drying his new pictures. They were beautiful. Images of Mallory sleeping contently in her bed, believing she was safe when this couldn't be further from the truth. There was no where she could go that he wouldn't find her or couldn't get to her.

A beeping started going off upstairs. Orion stopped what he was doing to rush up to the computer room. Once at the computer he made with dozens of screens on the wall, he found robot 112-BA was activate again. Sitting down at his computer, he reconnected with the robots and activated the eyes and ears. Watching and listening in on what was happening. They were reprograming the robot to take them back to him. He double checked its code and found that they were able to in fact reprogram it. "Well, well. The tech is useful isn't she and to bad I don't have time to sit here and hack her programing. That robots going to bring them straight to me." He sighed, not wanting to up and move but it didn't seem like he had a choice. No matter. His robots would pack everything quickly and they would go find another safe house. It would be easy enough. He had an old moving truck that he used to transport everything around. Looking at the programing on the robot again he smirked as he grabbed a small spider robot that he made for infiltration and put it in his pocket. Disconnecting the laptop he used he put it in a backpack over his shoulder.

Going to the robot guarding the study he gave his orders. "Pack everything. We're leaving. Kill the human in the basement." The robots were a hive mind, they all heard the command at once even though Orion had only spoken to one robot. The robot guarding the captured human reached out and snapped the old man's neck with a twist of its wrist then proceeded to pack up. "Also leave the pictures on the wall behind. I want her to see them." He smirked grabbing his burner phone and dialing a number. "Get back here now. Bring the motorcycle." He hung up. It would only take five minutes for the robot to get here. While that was happening he grabbed all of the stuff he deemed important to take with him. Five minutes later, he walked down stairs and put back on his specially developed watch. Just as he placed it on, the front door was opened and in walk Jim Holst. "About time you got back. Change out of that skin suit into some kind of human mover." Orion order the robot Jim Holst. Its skin shifted and changed, giving glimpses of the shiny metal structure underneath, only to shift and be replaced with the image of a male mover with dark hair. It helped finish loading all the equipment and materials into the moving van. The robots piled in and the one that looked human locked up the back and drove off. The house would look like he had never been in it, expect for the shrine of images on the wall in the bed room, he even left her a little envelop with more pictures in it, just for her.

Now he would go to the Pond and leave a little surprise for Mallory in her bedroom as well, not to mention plant the spider robot in their base. They were coming to his base and while they were here, he would go to theirs. Orion smirked handsomely and hit the yellow button on his watch, his image shifted and changed over to that of Jim Holst. "Looks like it's time to go." He jumped onto the motorcycle and left the large house behind, headed right for Anaheim. On the highway he smirked as he was driving, the Migrator was on the opposite side of the highway and getting ready to turn off into Sunnyville with the police escorting them. They drove right past him. Orion laughed, it was too easy.

…..

The ducks pulled up to the large house. Wildwing had called Klegghorn, they didn't have the right to break into someone's house, they weren't the police. So Klegghorn agreed to help them. Walking up to the front door Klegghorn knocked a couple of times but there was no sound. He pulled out his gun and nodded to the ducks. Grin ripped the door off its hinges with easy. Klegghorn entered first with his gun in front of him. "Hello? Is anybody here?" There was no response. The ducks were all tense.

Mallory had her gun out and ready, she was prepared for anything Orion could throw at her. Wildwing gave the signal for everyone to split up and search the house. Wildwing was sure to stay close to Mallory, he would always be one room away from her in case she was attacked. They were about to go upstairs when Grin called everyone saying he found the owner. Everyone went downstairs to find the old man laying on the ground, his neck clearly broken. Klegghorn walked forward and checked the man's pulse just in case. "Oh yeah, he's dead."

"Wow man! This is getting dark." Nosedive said. Wildwing looked over at his brother, not liking that he younger brother was being exposed to this.

"I need to call this in. This is a homicide now." Klegghorn went out to his car and called in the murder. Meanwhile the ducks went to check the upstairs. Searching the upstairs of the house, everyone checked the individual rooms, announcing when it was clear. Mallory slowly made her way to the bedroom, knowing that most likely Orion would have something in there for her but when she got there, she wasn't prepared for the scene before her. All over his walls was a collage of pictures, pictures of her. Pictures of her on the ice, at the mall walking around in her casual clothes, even of her spending time with Buzz at his compound and they were all taken so close to her. Some were right next to her. How did he get right next to her?

"Mallory is the bedroom clear?" Wildwing's voice came over from the next room.

"Yeah clear but get in here. Get Klegghorn." She said still staring at the walls with pictures of her plastered all over it.

Wildwing called the police captain up. They walked in and both froze, their jaws dropping at the clear and very dark obsession this guy had with Mallory. "Woooowwww. This guy... has a serious problem." Klegghorn said, creeped out by the intensity of this shrine to Mallory, he glanced at her from the side of his eye.

Wildwing looked at the pictures on the wall disturbed by how close he had been to Mallory and she hadn't even noticed. Some pictures even had them all out together and they didn't realize Orion was there. He was seriously worried about her safety now. There was even a lock of red hair on the wall. Walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, he wasn't too surprised when she jumped a little. "You okay?"

Mallory shook her head no, unable to form words. Seeing this all made her feel sick to her stomach. She took comfort in his hand on her shoulder and grabbed it in hers. Wildwing nodded and kept her close, not removing his hand. Mallory looked around some more and spotted something she didn't notice before on the bed. It was an envelope with her name on it, in _**his**_ writing. Walking forward slowly she went to reach for it but Wildwing's hand on her shoulder pulled her back. "Don't it could be a boobie-trapped and you'd be tampering with the police's evidence."

Klegghorn walked up and nodded his head. "I'll have my crew take a look at it and let you know what's inside. For now, you should probably let us handle this, try to get some sleep." Mallory didn't say anything, she just turned and left. Wildwing had a few more words with Klegghorn then followed Mallory out, taking the rest of the team with him. Everyone had seen the room; they were all creeped out. Mallory didn't say anything or look at anyone for the whole trip back to the Pond. She just wanted to go to bed and not talk to anyone, just forget that Orion was here.

Once back Mallory was the first one out of the Migrator and walking quickly into the Pond, no one stopped her, they knew she needed some time. Wildwing told everyone to go rest up and went after Mallory.

…..

Mallory walked into her room and hit her chest piece, changing into her casual clothes so that she could start getting ready for bed. She took her jacket off and walked towards her bed only to see something that made her heart jump. There on her bed was an envelope with her name written across the front, in _**his**_ writing. He had been down in the Pond! In her room! Who knows what he could have done! She looked around her room, trying to see if there was anything out of place or see if he was hiding somewhere. Finding nothing Mallory turned back to the envelope, unsure of what to do. Walking forward very slowly, Mallory approached her bed like it was a wild animal waiting to attack. Her fingers cautiously reached out, so close to grabbing it. Her nerves almost shot as her fingers grazed the pointed edge of the envelop. She shook and took a breath when the door suddenly opened. Mallory jumped back and gasped, pulling her hand to her chest. Wildwing stood in her doorway giving her a concerned looked.

"Mallory?" He walked forward studying her, making sure she was okay. "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer only looked at her bed and he followed her eyes. His eyes widened at the implications of what the envelope meant. He walked the rest of the way to Mallory and took her shoulders. "Come on. We'll get Tanya to-"

"No! I need to see." She jerked her shoulders away from his hands and walked to the bed again.

"Mallory!" Wildwing didn't want her to open the envelope but knew she wouldn't listen to him. "Wait let me scan it first." She stopped and nodded. Scanning it with his mask he found that it was just more pictures and there wasn't anything on the envelope to hurt or poison her. Finally finished scanning he gave her the go ahead and she picked it up slowly. Opening it up carefully she pulled out some more pictures. Wildwing couldn't see what the pictures were but by her reaction it wasn't good.

Mallory felt like she couldn't breath. The pictures in the envelope were of her sleeping in her bed. He stood right next to her, here in this very room and who knows what he could have done. She looked up at Wildwing and he approached her slowly and took the pictures from her limp hands. She just let him, unable to move. His eyes landed on the pictures and his jaw dropped for a second time. He studied each one, his stomach turning into knots the more he saw. Mallory was sleep peacefully in them, completely unaware of the intruder in her room. One image even had _**his**_ hand reaching out and caressing her face. Wildwing's fingers clenched on the photo, bending it out of shape. Turning it over he found a message across the back of it. 'I will always find you' was written in red. Wildwing tore it in half and threw them to the floor, angry that this son of a bitch had somehow gotten passed their security. He grabbed her hand a dragged her out of the room. "Where are we going?" Mallory asked.

"To my room. You're staying with me tonight and I don't want any arguments about it. Understand." He wasn't taking no for an answer. This creep had gotten into the Pond while they were all still here. This was serious. Mallory agreed, not wanting to be alone anyway. She rubbed the back of her neck, it was still sore from sleeping on it wrong a couple of nights ago. Wait that was more like two weeks ago! She should have been fine by now. She yanked her hand out of Wildwing's and started frantically feeling around the back of her neck. Wildwing stopped when she pulled her hand back, thinking she was going to start arguing with him but stopped what he was about to say when he saw her panic.

"Oh no. What now?" He asked.

"Wildwing scan the back of my neck with the mask. I think he may have put something there in my sleep!" He didn't waste any time. He moved her hair out of his way and scanned her neck. The mask's vision went red and showed him something that definitely shouldn't have been in her. A small device no bigger than a pea was sitting in her neck, blinking. The mask identified it as a type of tracking device. "You have a tracking device in your neck." He said, trying to keep the slowly building anger out of his voice. This son of a bitch had gone too far. How dare he do this to Mallory! Grabbing Mallory's hand, he pulled her to the infirmary and called the rest of the team, telling them to meet them down there.

Tanya removed the tracker quickly. Placing the bloody bead in a metal pan she studied it. "This is very advanced! I've never seen anything like it!" She said. "This kind of thing wasn't even available in the military on Puckworld. How did he get it in you?"

"I don't know, just like I don't know how he got into the Pond at night while we were all here." Mallory said.

Wildwing's arms were crossed. His jaw was clenched and kept ticking from the strain he was putting on his muscles. "Well it's clear we need to upgrade security. Find something that he can't get passed. We're gonna need to do a full search of this place. Make sure that we didn't miss anything. Tanya I want you to run a full analysis on Drake One and then the rest of the Pond. Let's make sure he didn't sabotage anything."

"Right I-I'll start right away and let you know as soon as I have s-something." Tanya nodded, a little nervous.

"Duke do you mind staying up with her?" Wildwing asked.

"Not at all Wing. I'm more of a night owl anyway." Duke smirked, glancing over at Mallory in concern. Grin was standing next her, rubbing her shoulder to give her comfort. She gladly accepted it.

"Alright, I need to do a scan of everyone's rooms right now. That way we know that they are safe." Wildwing said. Everyone agreed.

Once he had checked everyone's room, including Mallory's he found that there was nothing planted in them. "Alright team. Get some sleep. Tanya, Duke, as soon as you finished the scan send me a message and me know. I'll be up keeping watch over Mallory. Once that's done get some sleep." Everyone nodded and went off to do just as he ordered.

Mallory followed him back to his room, not saying a word. She wasn't sure what to say. When they were in his room he went into his drawer and handed her a shirt. She looked up at him confused. "To sleep in. It'll be long enough that it goes down to your thighs." He said.

She nodded and took it from him. "Thanks." Going into his private bathroom she changed for the night. When she came back out Wildwing had to stop himself from staring. She looked so good in his shirts. He coughed into his hand and nodded. "Uh you can have the bed. Try to get some sleep." He went and sat down on his sofa, trying not to think about the fact that she was in his bed in just his shirt.

An hour later, Mallory couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. She tossed and turned in Wildwing's bed but sighed in frustration. "You okay?" Wildwing called from on the sofa. Mallory jumped not realizing that he had been awake.

"Did I wake you?"

"No I've been up. I'm watching over you for the night remember. I wouldn't be about to sleep anyway, knowing that he was down here and could have hurt you." Wildwing blushed a little, the words leaving his mouth before he could stop them. Mallory was blushing on the bed too, she hugged the sheets to herself but found no comfort in them. His scent floated off of them up to her nose. She held them closer to her body.

"He could have hurt all of us." Mallory said.

"Yeah..." Wildwing murmured while Mallory stared at the ceiling. Making up her mind she threw her legs over the side of his bed and jumped down. Her feet padded softly across his metal floors over to where he lay on his couch. Seeing her come over he sat up and gave her a place to sit. She didn't say anything, just sat down beside him. He leaned on his knees with his elbows.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He was hopeful that she would open up to him more. Mallory just wrapped her arms around herself and leaned into his side a little. Needing some form of comfort, though afraid to ask for it. Wildwing understood that she was uncomfortab with everything that had happened. He couldn't blame her, slowly he brought his hand out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Gently pulling her to his side as to give her the option of pulling away if she wanted to, he hugged her to his side in empathy. Mallory sighed when she finally rested against him. She placed her hand over his chest and laid her head on his shoulder. At this moment she just wanted to be held by him. Seeing that she wasn't pulling away from him, he pulled her tighter to him and rested his chin on top of her head as Mallory nestled against him.

"Tonight I don't want to talk about him." Mallory looked up at Wildwing. He moved his head off the top of hers and looked down into her eyes. Both were trapped in a trance. His rich brown clashing with her sparkling emeralds. Their heads moved closer of their own accord. _"I shouldn't be doing this."_ Mallory thought to herself.

Wildwing could feel her breath on his beak, their closeness sent tingles down his spine. _"Is this finally happening? She's finally coming to me of her own will."_ He thought. After what felt like an eternity, their beaks touched. It was like electricity shot through them. The same intensity that he felt at the club was back. Wrapping his hands around Mallory's upper arms, he pulled her close and she melted into him.

" _I don't want to fight this."_ Her hands went to his strong chest as she craned her neck back. Pressing his mouth down onto hers, he hungrily wrestled control of the kiss away from her.

She climbed onto his lap and settled on his hips, his shirt riding up her thighs. His hands gently followed the shirt's path up her legs to disappear under it and rest on her bare hips. Their kissing grew more intense and soon Mallory was on her back with Wildwing over her on the sofa. Wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his neck, keeping him close. "Mallory, I need you." He kissed his way down her neck to her shoulder.

"I need you too."

He stopped kissing her and looked down at her with his searing gaze, holding her eyes captive in his. For a moment he just stared at her, Mallory wondered if he would do anything until he leaned down and took her beak in his again. He kissed her harshly, not giving her the chance to protest. Mallory's eyes closed as she kissed him back, running her fingers through his hair and digging them into the back of his neck. She felt his warm hands slip further under the shirt he gave her to sleep in. He pushed it up her thighs until he exposed her panties while kissing her neck. One hand went to her thigh keeping it around his waist while the other slipped into her panties and started caressing her. Mallory's head snapped back at his touch, her red tresses sprawling across his bed. She moaned as he nipped at her collar bone. "I don't want anyone but you. You're on my mind always now. What have you done to me?" He said panting. Heart hammering in her chest, she grabbed his white jacket and pushed it off his shoulders, desperate to feel his skin against hers. Soon both of their clothes descended to the floor. Wildwing breached her and Mallory gasped, her spine arched up into him off the sofa with the power of his initial thrust. Twining his fingers with hers, he gripped her hand, pressing it into the cushions in an effort not to go too fast. His body and mind wanted the same thing, Mallory's unconditional surrender to him. Hours went by and they still hadn't stopped. They spent the night worshiping each other. When they finished, Mallory slept on his chest, wrapped in his arms. It was the closest to safe that she had felt since finding out Orion was back.

…..


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own the Mighty Ducks

Unrequited Love

Tanya and Duke took the robot to Tanya's lab and shut it down. Then strapped it onto one of the tables. Duke hadn't said anything yet, she wondered a little nervously what was on his mind. "Uh Duke?" He raised an eyebrow at her in question. "About last night… Ya know, when we were dancing?" He nodded, waiting for her to go on, a slight smirk on his face.

"We-well, I wanted to know. Are you actually interested in me are is it just a fling?" She held her breath and waited for his answer. She hadn't been this anxious or nervous since making her first presentation in high school. Resisting the urge to twiddle her thumbs in nervousness but she kept her hands balled up and waited for Duke's answer that would either break her heart or make her very happy.

"Why would you think that I just wanted a fling?" He asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head. "When I kissed you out on the dance floor I felt a spark there. I thought you did too."

"I did! It's just…."

"Just what?"

"I-i-it's just, I always thought that I wouldn't be your type." She turned away not wanting him to see the growing blush on her cheeks.

"Tanya." He placed and hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Your smart, funny, beautiful. What's not to like about you?" She didn't know what to say. Her own insecurities have been stopping her from seeing what was right in front of her. "Tanya, I would like to take you out. Would you consider dating me?" He asked taking her hand in his.

"Of course Duke." She smiled, holding his hand.

Duke smile when he remembered that the sky was supposed to be clear tonight. "Come on. Let's go see if the stars are out tonight." He held her hand the whole way up to the roof. They spent most of the night kissing and looking at the stars.

…..

All was quiet in the Pond, everyone was asleep in their beds when a itsy bitsy robot spider climbed out of a vent in Tanya's lab. The very same lab that held the armless robot for studying. It attached metal thread to lower itself down and onto the armless robot. Inserting itself, it started reprograming the robot to give Orion control over it again.

Once this was completed the little robot made its way back into the vent system and crawled to Drake One. Its little metal feet tapping against the metal as it walked and navigated the dark air vents to the main computer. When it arrived it lowered itself from the vent onto the panel by the keyboard below. Searched with its little red eyes it found its target. Crawling into the opening it began the process of hacking Drake One.

…..

Wildwing's bedroom was pitch black, thanks to being underground. The only light in the room came from his alarm which glowed brightly as it announced in a high pitch beeping sound, that it was time to get up. Wildwing shifted on his bed and smacked the alarm off. He was so tired this morning. He groaned, another dream about Mallory. This one felt so real.

Mallory opened her eyes to watch him groggily start waking up. She was still tired as well. They had been up most of the night making love.

Wildwing was about to get up when he felt warm arms wrap around his waist from behind. He tensed and froze. Then the events of last night came back to him fully. _"I wasn't dreaming that?"_ He turned to look at her and laid back down into the bed, facing Mallory and wrapping his arms around her.

"What time is it?" She asked, her voice husky from just waking.

"Six am. When I usually get up." He kissed his lover's forehead and she cuddled up to his chest. Sliding one of her naked thighs up between his legs and pressed her front into his as she draped an arm over his back. He shifted, realizing she was getting him excited and that she was definitely feeling that excitement against her stomach. Mallory groaned and ran her hands down his back, feeling his excitement was getting her worked up.

"Your soldier's saluting." She teased in a husky voice. Wildwing grunted in a noncommittal answer. Not that one was needed. "Why don't I help you with that." She smirked and rolled on top of him gently. His hands went to her hips to helped her over him. She rubbed her hands over his strong chest and pressed her hips down on his. He groaned, unable to resist this beautiful woman who was far too tempting for her own good.

…..

When they finally left his room it was nine am, everyone would be up and starting their day.

Going down to the kitchen, they were greeted by a very cheerful looking Tanya and Duke. "Did you guys get any sleep?" Wildwing asked walking in.

"Yah we got some." Duke smirked at Tanya who blushed. Mallory arched a questioning eyebrow at Wildwing who just shrugged. He went to the cabinet and pulled out two mugs for making tea for both himself and Mallory. Realizing what he was doing, she couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness. She sat at the table, rubbing her neck, it still hurt from that thing being taken out of it.

"Here let me see your neck Mallory." Tanya moved her hand away and inspected the cut. "It looks fine but you shouldn't rub it too much." She replaced the bandages and gave Mallory an affectionate pat on the arm. The red head smiled at Tanya in appreciation as Tanya took a seat next to Duke.

Wildwing quietly noted the differences in Tanya and Duke this morning, not once did she glance over at himself. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at Duke. He was relieved to see that she had been quite taken with ex-thief. He smiled to himself, happy for the new couple. Wildwing sat Mallory's tea down in front of her and took a seat next to her. "Here drink this." She thanked him and then gently sipped on her hot tea.

"Mallory is there anything that you remember happening to indi-indicat-, uh let us know how he could have gotten down here?" Tanya asked. Mallory shook her head.

"It would have been his inventions that let him down here without detection. Mostly likely he overrode the elevator by hacking it and took it down."

"But how would he have known we weren't here? Unless he was watching us the whole time? Maybe through his robot. I'll finish running some tests on it after practice." Tanya rubbed her beak.

"Practice is gonna have to wait, we're wanted at a fundraiser for sick children today at two."

"Phil found something else to spread our fame? Not that I'm against fundraisers for sick kids but he's doing the right thing for the wrong reason." Duke rolled his eyes upwards.

Wildwing's respond was drown out by Mallory's thoughts about what Tanya had just said. _How would he have known they weren't here?_ Her eyes widening in realization. She just now remembered something she had wanted to look into but never got a chance. So much had been on her mind that she completely lost focus. _"How could I have forgotten something like that?"_ It was as if a fog that had been on her mind had lifted. She couldn't remember everything but she remembered the pain and waking up in her bed after, confused and naked. How could she be so stupid and forget about that? Sitting there thinking about it while the others talked, not realizing the turmoil Mallory was thrown into. _"What happened they went to the movies and I was going to call Jim? There was pain. How could I forget that pain? I fell to my knees it hurt so bad! My vision was swimming and all around me lights were going out, then nothing. I woke up in my bed naked much later that day."_ She looked at her friends still talking about Phil and his lack of taste when it came to advertising and publicity stunts. _"I woke up naked. He… oh my…. He would have. He wouldn't have missed the opportunity."_ She thought to herself, feeling very sick to her stomach. _"I don't know for sure but there's no other reason that I would wake up naked in my bed!"_ Mallory's hands began to shake. _"I have to see the video footage of that day!"_

"Hey guys I'm gonna go grab some stuff from my room. I'll see you in a bit." She touched Wildwing's arm affectionately. He smiled up at her, not thinking anything of her getting up to leave, the others didn't either.

Walking out she made it look like she went to her room but when out of sight, she made a bee line for Drake One. Seeing that no one was there, she jumped on and turned on the massive super computer. Its response was sluggish, something unusual for Drake One. Pulling up the video files was like pulling teeth. It kept freezing, she was ready to punch the stupid thing. There was the constant fear of someone walking in and finding her watching these files. If there was anything to find. Deep down she hoped the files were destroyed, that way she didn't have to confirm her fears. She found the file, her hands were sweating as her pointer finger hovered over the enter key. Gently pressing down on it, the video started playing. Fast forwarding to noon, she watched and waited. Then it happened. The video showed her walking down the hall looking at her phone, a disgruntled look on her face when she dropped it then started screaming, crouching down and holding her head. Lights in the halls flickered, the camera went from showing an image to rapidly going black. Slowing the feed to get a better look in between blackouts, she watched the light go out all around her and the silhouette of a male duck appear. She did nothing but stand there as he approached her, looking out into the flickering blackness. Mallory dug her nails into the metal panel in front of her as she watched herself place her hand in Orion's and him led her to the bedroom. The footage continued to flickered for a minute after that but then went out completely.

Burying her mouth in the bend of her arm, she gave a gut wrenching scream. Pouring all her hurt, shame, sadness, but mostly anger into her cry. Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision. They dripped down her beak and fell onto the keyboard under her. Her arm muffled her scream so that the sound didn't leave the room but the sobs wouldn't stop no matter how much she tried. She wanted to go somewhere safe to expel the horrible emotions clouding her every thought but her room was the place that _**it**_ had happened. How could she go there? Everywhere else in the Pond, everyone had access too. Wildwing felt safe but was she ready to tell him this? Her mind was made up for her when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She ran out, leaving the video files up on Drake One for anyone to see. In her distress, she forgot to close the file. Her main concern was that she didn't want anyone to see her like this. Running down the hall in the opposite direction of the footsteps she ran blindly, not watching where she was going, until she ran into a fleshy wall named Grin.

Grin stumbled back a step but Mallory fell back on her butt. She looked up and Grin looked down at the same time. His eyes softened in concern and worry for her when he saw the tears. She never cried. What happened? "Mallory? What is troubling you?" She turned her head away from him.

"Please I can't be seen looking like this." Mallory whimpered. She felt so weak. Grin was a duck of few words, he understood what others needed just by their aura alone. Gently scooping her up in his large arms, he carried her back to her room, he was about to enter to door when the horrible and disturbing aura surrounding it and her hit him. This was the last place she needed to be. Something happened here and it was hurting Mallory. Turning back, he took a left and went to his room. Protectively carrying the smaller duck with him. Mallory clung to him in what she would later see as a moment of weakness. No words were said, he took her to his room, closed the door and sat on one of his meditating pillows, surrounded by his crystals. He took one of his meditation crystals in his hand, trying to dispel the negative energy flowing off of Mallory in waves into the crystal.

Mallory's tears slowed but they hadn't stopped. She didn't dare look at Grin and he didn't put her down, just hugged her. Her soft sobs subsided and she silently wept. She felt violate, disgusting, like she would never be clean again. "Whatever this is that's hurting you, you must confront it." Grin spoke softly.

She looked up at him, finally he could see her vulnerable eyes. He silently implored her to talk to him, tell him what was going on that taken such a strong woman and had broken her aura into shambles. Leaning up she whispered in his ear what she had discovered. Grin listened silently his face showing no outward emotion but in his hand one of his meditation crystals was being crushed by his outrage of the crime committed against her. The crystal cracked and whined under the pressure his slowly closing fist was putting on it until it shattered. His knuckles cracked intimidatingly. Gently he wrapped his big arms a little tighter around her, trying to make her feel some form of protection. "He will pay."

…..

Wildwing walked to Drake One with Tanya, when they entered the computer was already on and active.

Tanya sat down in the chair in front of the keyboard. "Uh okay? Someone was already here. Why did they just leave thi- Eww!" Tanya pulled her hands away from the keyboard rubbing her fingers together. "The keyboard is wet."

Just then Nosedive walked in with a water bottle that he was currently downing. "Yo bro, what's the hap?" He was always in a good mood. Wildwing smiled at his brother, about to respond when Tanya interrupted.

"Nosedive! Have you been drinking by the keyboard again?" She glared at him.

"What? No! I just got up thank you." He said defensively crossing his arms.

"Well somebody did." She grumbled turning back around to look at what was pulled up. She tilted her head curiously at the time stamp on the footage. "Why was this pulled up?" She asked herself out loud.

"Play it. See if there's anything on it." Wildwing said, his arms crossed as he looked up at the screen. It was a video recording in front of Mallory's room. His stomach started to get that feeling again. Something happened. 

Tanya started going over the footage and was annoyed with how slow the computer was. "What's the matter with this thing?" She growled at it. "Ugh! I'm gonna have to do another scan or open it up and see what's wrong." She really didn't want to deal with this today. There was already so much on her plate, at least the Aerowing was finally fixed and that was done. Going through the video they were getting closer to noon when the computer crashed. "WHAT!?" Tanya yelled in outrage. Both brothers backed away from her, a little worried about being caught in her line of fire as she sputtered angrily then started pulling open and off varies parts of Drake One, trying to solve what was wrong with it.

…..

Grin had comforted Mallory to the best of his ability and she had calmed quickly but now she refused to speak to the others about it, mainly Wildwing.

"Mallory he needs to know. He'll protect you. We all will." Grin was standing now, watching Mallory pace back and forth.

"Not from him you can't. No one can or ever could." She muttered, still sniffling a little as she hugged herself.

"Have faith in us Mallory. We will find a way." Mallory stopped pacing and sighed about to say something but then thought better of it. "When will you speak with Wildwing?"

"I'm not sure yet." She looked away from Grin and at the floor, seeing his broken crystals that lay in splinters on the ground. "You broke a crystal." Grin just nodded, seeing that she wanted a distraction from the current topic. Walking up to him she took his hand that had crushed the crystal and checked his palm, finding it was cut up. Gently she picked out the small shards stuck in his skin. "Do you have a first aid kit?" He nodded and went to his bathroom, leaving Mallory waiting in the meditation circle. Coming back out he handed her the box and sat down on his pillow. She sat next to him and treated his cut hand. Making sure all the crystals were out and blood blotted away, then covered in antibacterial paste and wrapped with a long white gauze. She was careful but steady as she worked. He had helped her more then he realized when he found her in the hall, she was returning the favor in any way she could. Later she would go get him another meditation crystal. Taking his other hand, she checked it and found it was fine but didn't put it down, looking up at the large duck she smiled. "Thank you Grin."

"I have done nothing."

"You did more for me then you realize." She always found his presences to be comforting but never as comforting as she found it right now. He was like a steady boulder that angry waves could beat against over and over and he would still not move, he would remain steadfast. The stability was comforting. Standing up she walked to the door. "Please don't tell anyone, let me do it when I feel the time is right." She looked over her shoulder at him, waiting for a confirmation. He nodded. Seeing he understood she left to go face her room. She needed to wash her face and try to look presentable.

Orion hurt her there but she refused to let him control her through fear. She needed to redirect these feelings in anger so that she could confront him, just like her training taught her.

…..

Wildwing, Nosedive, and Duke stood back watching Tanya throw computer parts that were useless back over her shoulder. A couple of times they had to dodge a random flying object but were able to stay out of the projectile's path.

Duke scratched his head, seeing his angry girlfriend suddenly freeze in her searching. "THAT SLIME!" She yelled, causing the guys to run over to see what she was talking about.

"What is it Tanya?" Wildwing asked.

"An infiltration bot. It goes in and hacks computers. It was trying to hack Drake One to gain control but since Mallory mentioned the robots being able to hack the computer from just hooking it up, I made some upgrades. Those upgrades worked but it also hurt some of Drake One, I'm gonna have to work on it but don't worry, I'll have it running in no time. The bot was destroyed trying to hack it." Tanya lifted the dead robotic spider, the thing was fried.

Wildwing rubbed his temples, this was getting worse and worse. Nosedive groaned. "Oh man! What else could go wrong?" The threw his arms over his head dramatically.

Duke rubbed his beak in thought. "We have this fundraiser to go to at two today. Should some of us stay behind?" He looked at Wildwing.

"I think that would be best. Tanya you will stay here and work on Drake One. I'm sorry, your plate is filling up fast. Grin will stay with you while the rest of us will go to this fundraiser." Just as he finished saying that Mallory walked in.

"Hey guys." She saw Drake One's parts scattered about and raised an eyebrow.

"Orion struck again. He had an infiltration bot that was trying to hack Drake One. Lucky for us it didn't work." Wildwing stood there with his arms crossed. Mallory visible paled. "Mallory?" Wildwing walked up to her concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm just not feeling good is all." She looked at the computer parts on the ground. Wildwing tilted his head at her.

"Maybe you should stay here then. Tanya and Grin were gonna stay here while we go to this fundraiser but if you're not feeling well then rest." He lifted her chin so that she looked at him as he studied her eyes. They looked a little red. She placed her hand over his, wanting to distract him from looking at her too hard.

"Do you mind if I rest in your room? I don't want to go back to mine." She said.

Nosedive just happened to be taking a drink of his water at this time and ended up spitting it across the room. Just barely missing hitting Duke, who jumped back. "What? Wait are you two-?" He pointed his finger back and forth between his brother and Mallory.

They both just ignored Nosedive in favor of each other. "You know you can. Stay as long as you want." His thumb rubbed over her beak, she closed her eyes for a moment enjoying his touch. Leaning in slowly and closing his eyes, he was a little lost in the moment. Nosedive watched with big eyes as his big brother was about to kiss Mallory while Duke watched with a smirk.

"A HA!" Tanya yelled in victory. Holding up the broken part in Drake One. Everyone jumped at her loud yell and turned to look at her. She ran out not even paying attention to what was going on in the room to grab the parts needed for fixing Drake One. Turns out it wasn't as bad as she thought.

Mallory turned back to Wildwing and almost giggled at the annoyed look on his face. He turned back to her about to ask about the video on Drake One when Phil walked in. "Boobies! What's going on? You should be getting ready!" Again the leader of the team glared at the distraction.

"I'll see you when you get back." She gave his hand a squeeze and left the room, headed to Wildwing's bedroom. While the guys watched her go.

"Way to go big bro! You're dating Mallory? She's a total babe!" Nosedive pumped his fist in the air while Duke chuckled at his antics.

…..

Mallory went to Wildwing's room, laying on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. She shouldn't leave the Pond, not with Orion out there but she needed to get two things. "I could always call Mookie and ask for a favor." Picking up her phone, Mallory looked at it. The last time she used it, she had been attacked. It rang making Mallory jump up. Annoyed at her jumpiness she answered, not sounding particularly pleasant. "What."

"Mallory. Are you okay? You never called." Jim's worried voice came from the other end. She wanted to smack her forehead. How could she have forgotten about Jim! What was wrong with her?

"Oh Jim! Hey! I was just about to call you." Lies.

He sighed over the line. "Mallory what's going on? You've been skittish the last couple times I saw you? Are you in trouble?"

"Jim, so much bad stuff is happening right now. For me that is."

"Want to talk about. Maybe go to a café?" Mallory smiled at his thoughtfulness. He was sweet.

"I can't. Right now it's not safe to be around me."

"What's going on? Mallory if you're in danger I want to know!" He pushed for more information. She sighed and laid back down.

"Well…"

…..

It was two o'clock in the afternoon and the fundraiser had just started.

Wildwing looked around at the people surround them. There was a big turnout, too bad the whole team couldn't be here but that was unavoidable. Phil was off talking to reporters trying to spread the publicity.

Honestly, helping these kids was nice and all but he was worried about Mallory. Something was nagging in his gut when he saw that video. At first he pushed it off as his instincts telling him something was wrong with the computer but after a while it was still there. It wasn't the computer, it had to do with that video they didn't get the chance to watch.

"Bro? When can we get outta here?" Nosedive elbowed his brother in the side.

"It'll be a while. We still have interviews to do." Wildwing answered. Nosedive rolled his eyes up to the sky, silently cursing Phil. The young blond crossed his arms in annoyance, looking around himself in boredom.

When in times of extreme boredom, the leader of the team always found it enjoyable to do some people watching. Everyone had their little quirks. He watched a heavy set man eating a hotdog but drip mustard on his blue shirt. Looking around he wiped it away with his thumb and licked it off his finger. Gross. Over on the other side of the crowds he saw a young couple sitting at a table in the shad together. The girl had her hand placed on top of her boyfriends, who lifted it up to his lips and kissed it. She giggled, leaning forward to reward him with a kiss on the lips for his sweet gesture. Seeing this he couldn't help but think of Mallory. He wanted to be able to do these things with her but thanks to this Orion it was apparently too dangerous for him. Please, if he ever saw this guy, he would beat him to a pulp. Wanting to get his mind off of Orion and Mallory, he turned his eyes in a random direction for more people watching, glancing over the crowd to see what would catch his eye.

People were everywhere but groups were heading towards them on the stage. Was it time for interviews already? He glanced at Phil to see the fat manager talking with the cameras. It was a little odd for so many to approach without cause. Getting that strange feeling in his gut he hit the buttons on the side of the mask and scanned the crowd. The eyes glowed red and Nosedive and Duke went on guard, seeing Wildwing using the mask. The team leader's eyes rounded in surprise, there were at least twenty robots headed right for them. It was an ambush!

…..

After talking to Jim, she agreed to try and meet up soon but with the way things were going, it would be a while. He seemed a little displeased but understanding. Mallory didn't tell Jim about her now intimate relationship with her team captain, something didn't feel right about telling him over the phone. She would explain it to him whenever she got coffee with him. Hanging up, she called Mookie. The phone rang a few times before the purple haired human picked up.

"Hello?" The sound of papers rustling could be heard.

"Hey Mookie. It's Mallory. Listen I need you to do me a favor but you can't tell anybody about it. I need to get Grin a new mediation crystal. I'll call and pay ahead of time but I would need you to pick it up and bring it to me. Can you do that?"

"Sure as long as its paid for." Mookie, said in her strange Californian beachgoer accent.

"Okay and there is one more thing…" Mookie silently waited on the other end for Mallory to continue. "I need you to pick up a pregnancy test for me."

"Oh my goooooooddddd! Are you serious? Whose baby is it?"

"Mookie, please don't tell anybody! I just want to be sure. I may not even be… you know."

"Okay, okay. My lips are sealed. But if you are I want to know. I want to see what a little baby duck looks like." Thrash could be heard in the background asking what she said.

"It will be paid for and don't tell Thrash. I really appreciate this Mookie. Call me when you're coming over." Mallory laid back on Wildwing's bed, the dark teal bed sheet contrasted with her light feathers.

"Okay. Bye." They both hung up. Mookie called not even twenty minutes later. "I'm here girl!" Mallory went upstairs grabbed the two shopping bags and thanked Mookie who had to run but not without the promise to let her know details. Mallory agreed, though she wouldn't tell her the truth of the situation. Going back down into the Pond, Mallory stopped by Grin's room. She knocked twice. Waiting for the sign that it was okay to enter but she didn't hear it. So she left the bag next to his door and went back to her room to test herself.

Not even twenty minutes later, Mallory was pacing her locked bathroom door. She was frightened. What if she was pregnant with Orion's child? She didn't even want to imagine that. Her bare feet tapped impatiently on the floor, wrapping her arms around herself to give herself comfort. She wished Wildwing was here. She wished she knew how to tell him.

Seeing it was time to look at the test she took deep breaths. Her shaky hand reached for the test, picking it up she read the results. Negative.

Breathing came easily again and she collapsed in relief on the pink rug next to her sink. "Bullet dodged."

…..

The humans were running and screaming from the destructive robots that were picking up tables and throwing them at people. Others opened their arm canons and fired randomly at people who got too close. The ducks were trying to defend the people while keeping the robots from killing them.

Duke cut one of the attacking robots in half. Looking over at his teammates he saw Nosedive and Wildwing were being overwhelmed with the sheer number of them. This was bad. Opening his com he went to call for backup from the others but a dart was shot into his arm. He looked down at it and his vision blurred. "Oh crap." Duke stumbled forward, trying to keep his balance. He ran right into one of the silver robots, it hit him hard, knocking him on his back.

"DUKE!" Wildwing saw his teammate go down and the robot standing over him. Grabbing one of the robots attacking him, he tossed it over his head and at the one standing over Duke. When it crashed into the other they both went down in a broken heap. His distraction to save his teammate was enough for one robot to open its arm and shoot him with a dart. It sank into his side, injecting the liquid. "Dive get outta here! Get help!" He fell over the drug taking affect quickly, he didn't even hear Dive's response before he passed out.

Nosedive kicked a robot away and blasted it's head off. "Right! Get help. I'll get help." He made a run for it, noticing that the robots didn't take chase. Opening his com he attempted to call the others only to remember that Drake One was down and their coms needed it in order to communicate with each other. All their technology was linked to that computer. "Damn man! This was all planned!"

…..

Relief was an amazing feeling.

She wasn't pregnant. Good news all around. Still she was in turmoil over the realization that Orion had taken her against her will. No matter what she did she couldn't get it off her mind. Who could if they realized that the same had happened to them? Mallory went back to focusing on the tv, flipping through the channels and unable to find anything that could hold her interest.

Giving a monster stretch on one of the many large sofa's they had, she contemplated what to do while turning on the news. "When are the others gonna be back?" She sighed to herself, wanting some company but Tanya was working and Grin was most likely meditating. "Wonder if he found the crystal yet?"

"Attack in Anaheim park leaves locals running for their lives!" The tv announcer spoke dramatically. Mallory sat straight up, finally paying attention to the tv. The screen changed to a woman holding a microphone to a frightened man's face. "It happened so fast. They came out of the crowd and started attacking people. I didn't stick around to see what was happening, I just ran."

The door opened behind her but she didn't bother looking. "The others are in trouble. We've got to help them." She turned around expecting to see Tanya or Grin but instead saw Orion. He smirked at her.

"No need for that."

Gasping she didn't think she just made a run for it but he dove over the sofa and tackled her from behind. She brought a swift elbow up into his face, the sound of bone hitting metal rang out. She cringed at the pain of her elbow smashing into his metal face. Confused she glanced back at him to see he was armless. The robot from downstairs, it wasn't really him. She rolled with all her strength and threw it off her back. It went with the roll and landed on its feet. Charging forward faster than any duck possibly could, it smashed its heel into her stomach while she stood up. She flew backwards and landed hard, coughing and resisting the urge to vomit from being hit in the stomach so hard. Before she could even attempt to get up it was on her again. Pinning her on her back by using its knees to hold her hands down. She struggled as it leaned over her, bringing his face close to hers. "Mallory, Mallory. I've missed you so." He spoke like he was singing a tune.

"Get off me you bastard!"

"How can you speak that way to me? After all I've done to be with you. Can't you see how much I love you?"

"You don't rape someone you love!" She screamed in his face. He had the nerve to look offended. His blue eyes narrowing in a slowly simmering rage.

"It wasn't rape! We made love. There's a difference."

"I had no choice! You took me when I couldn't deny you! That's rape!"

"I won't argue with you about this. You're being irrational." Tears of frustration and anger pricked at the corners of her eyes. "Anyway that's not what I wanted to discuss. I have two of your friends." Mallory froze. Her heart leapt into her throat. "If you want them back safe and sound then I recommend that you come to me willingly. There is an abandon apartment building, down by the park. I have them there. You have an hour to come alone or I kill them."

"Don't you dare touch my friends!" She yelled, struggling to get up. The armless robot didn't budge an inch.

"One hour Mallory." He leaned down the rest of the way and took her beak in a harsh kiss. Mallory would have bit it but it wouldn't have done anything. It didn't move off of her, she squirmed under it, trying to get up but it was no use.

Suddenly the robot was pulled off of her. She saw Grin had it by the waist, he lifted it into the air and ripped the head clean off. The rest of it went limp and Orion's face melted off to reveal the silver machine underneath with glowing eyes. "Be assured that you will reap what you sow. Karma will see to it or I will." The eyes died out and Grin helped Mallory to her feet. "I was on my way to thank you for the crystal when I saw this thing on you. Are you alright?"

"No! He has them Grin! Orion has the guys!" Mallory breathed heavily. "If I don't go alone to meet him in an hour, he'll kill them and it's not an idol threat! He will do it."

"You cannot go alone Mallory. Not after what he's done to you." He stared stoically at her.

"What choice do I have?"

"It may seem like you don't have any other choice but you do Mallory. Let us help you." He placed a large hand on her shaking shoulder.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, her nerves were shot at this point. "Okay. Let's get Tanya."

…..

Nosedive made it back to the Pond in record time, taking the elevator down to the headquarters he found Tanya finishing up her work on Drake One but it still wasn't on yet! "Tanya! The guys are in trouble! Those freaky robots were there waiting for us!"

"Nosedive?" She stood up wiping her hands. "What do you mean? What's going on? Is Duke okay?"

"No! Those robots got them! I ran to get help." 

"We've gotta get the others!" As soon as she said that the door opened.

"We're already here Tanya!" Mallory ran out to them. "I already know what's going on. Orion contacted me."

Tanya gasped. "Well what did he want?"

"I'm to meet him in less than an hour alone or he'll kill Wildwing and Duke." Tanya brought her hands to her mouth to hold back the gasp. She was frightened for them, thinking the worst.

Nosedive growled and fingered his gun. "We've got to save them Mal!" Nosedive was ready to get back out there. His brother was in the hands of a psychopath. There was no way he would leave him there to suffer. "What are we gonna do?"

"I'm going to do what Orion said and meet him alone. You're going to be very careful and follow from a distance. Make sure he doesn't know you're following me. Take the Aerowing but put it in stealth, don't attack until I give the signal and when I do either blast your way in through the roof or a side window. Grab Wildwing and Duke and get them out of there. That's the first priority. He won't kill me. I'll be sure to keep him distracted."

Grin shifted uncomfortable, he didn't like Mallory facing this guy alone after what he did to her. "Mallory-"

"I can handle it Grin." She turned to look him in the eyes, an unspoken understanding between them that Nosedive and Tanya didn't understand. There was a simmering rage just below the surface with a hint of fear but the resolve to finish this was there. "Just save the guys and then come and get me. Like I said I'll distract him. I own him some pay back." She clenched her fists, the fists that she was going to smash into Orion's face over and over. "I'm sick of being afraid of what he'll do next."

Grin nodded. "The road to healing requires that we face our fears and those who hurt us."

"Well, then it starts tonight."

…..


	10. Chapter 10

I don't own the Mighty Ducks

Unrequited Love

Orion smirked as he walked up to the leader on the team, slumped over in his chair with his chest armor removed. "Well, well, the mighty leader." He scuffed, Wildwing and Duke had been only too easy to capture. Watching their attempts to fight off the robots had been pathetic. Pulling out the same syringe he used to inject Mallory with the mind control device he roughly grabbed Wildwing by his hair and pushed his head forward, looking for a spot to inject it. This was his insurance policy if all else failed, which he doubted it would. Every step of the way they had done exactly as he planned. He dropped the bread crumbs and they followed, right to where he wanted them.

Mallory was supposed to be at the fundraiser but he figured out she wouldn't be when he called her as Jim Holst. It was a good way to get information on her whereabouts and let him get close to her. Real close. That time at the movies, he had to stop himself from dragging her away and disappearing. It actually had been the plan until he saw that a teammate had followed her. The annoying thief, he glanced at the said duck tied to a chair. He smirked, thinking about Mallory's surprise when the robot he was controlling appeared behind her. It had been there as a form of communication with her for when he planned this all out. If she didn't show up, then he would deliver his message through it. Either way she would be here and she would sacrifice herself to save her friends. He knew her too well. He also knew that she would bring back up despite his warning. They would take that vehicle they called the Migrator since the robots crashed their plane. Knowing she would bring back up, he would have the robots out on the streets ready to attack when they saw the Migrator. Everything was coming together nicely.

Pulling down the collar on the back of Wildwing's shirt he injected the mind control device in between his shoulder blades on his spine. He needed to put it somewhere not visible since this duck's hair was too short to cover the back of his neck. Once finished, he sealed the cut and checked that the device was working by viewing its programing on one of his portable computers. It was syncing up with his nerves nicely. Good, if something went wrong, he would use her leader to deliver Mallory into his hands.

Wildwing woke up to the sound of keys being tapped rapidly, his skull felt like a hockey puck was banging around inside and his back was on fire. Orion hadn't been kind enough to give him any form of painkillers. "Oh man. What?" He looked around himself and saw that he and Duke were tied to chairs in an abandon apartment. Duke was tied in chains while he was only in rope. Why? "Duke? You okay?" Duke didn't respond, he was still out.

"It will wear off soon. You came to a little quicker." The deep smooth voice came from behind him. He turned his head and cringed at the pain in his back. "The robots did a number on you." The duck walked in front of him and looked down at Wildwing through unimpressed eyes. Wildwing was surprised by the handsome guy standing in front of him. He had yellow feathers with lighter blond hair that was in a modern pompadour style, only it was push to the right letting some of his longer hair in the front hang over to the side of his strong face. He blue eyes were cold and merciless. He was clean kept but rugged looking at the same time. His build was similar to Wildwing's only this guy's legs were more muscled, not as thin as Wildwing's leg. Begrudgingly, he had to admit this guy was ridiculously good looking, not something you would expect from someone so insane. "So you're the leader of the Mighty Ducks. The one who drove Dragaunus from Puckworld. I'm not impressed." He sneered.

Wildwing ground his teeth at him. "What do you want?"

"Mallory. What else? I'm sure she's told you all about me. So let's cut through the bullshit and don't play stupid. It insults me."

"Fine. Orion Bluebill. You were arrested for some insane, illegal experimentation with genetic material, Mallory's genetic material."

"Hn. Illegal yes. Insane no. She just didn't understand what I was trying to do for her but she will." Orion turned away from him, walking back to look out the window, placing his hands behind his back as most military men do. He wore a black short sleeve muscle shirt with camo pants and typical black combat boots that were laced up the front and went over the bottom of his pants. His clothes were stereotypical of a grunt but this guy was supposed to be a genius.

Seeing his chance Wildwing pulled out a small knife from his glove and started sawing away at his ropes. "I doubt that. She thinks your insane and hates you."

"We'll see. She loved me once, she will again." Orion ignored him.

A small flare of jealous lite Wildwing's stomach at hearing that but he pushed it aside to gain more information. "Why did you do it? What was your logic?" He had to know. What would drive a duck to do what he did and ruin the relationship he had with a woman he loved so much.

"Because she wanted to have a family and so did I! But they wouldn't let her or me go! It was too dangerous for her to get pregnant out in the field so I conceived a way to make a child from our DNA outside of her womb. It failed but I realized if I couldn't grow a child then perhaps I could clone a replacement for her. Cloning is simple, it's figuring out how to give them life that's the problem. Once done it would take her place and we could run away together but it was when I was trying to figure out how to give it life that she found out about everything. She took it all wrong. I just wanted to live out my life in peace with her by my side! Was that so much to ask for?" He looked at Wildwing. "What would you do to live out your live in peace with the woman of your dreams?"

"How you attempted to attain this is where you went wrong. Because you chose to be deceptive about it and experiment on her against her knowledge. You have no one else to blame but yourself for her hating you. Don't drag her down because of your mistakes, let her go live out her life in peace!" The ropes were cut free. Wildwing charged, not realizing that Orion wanted him to do this. Orion wanted to put this leader in his place and let him see what a real leader looked like.

He sidestepped Wildwing just as he dove at him, smirking as the white feathered drake skidded across the floor. "What was that? That's what you call an attack?" He laughed as Wildwing got back to his feet. His head was still killing him but he could ignore that, what he was worried about was the pain in his back, it was going to slow him down in this fight. "Allow me to educate you on how to be a real fighter." Orion got into a fighting stance and waited for Wildwing to make the first move. He did.

Instead of charging again he set a series of punches at Orion, who dodged them expertly, his movements smooth and fluid. Blocking a couple more of Wildwing's punches he ducked under his arm and sent his fist right up into Wildwing's jaw, snapped his head up painfully and knocking him back a couple steps. Wildwing's teeth smacked together, feeling the vibration of the hit through his skull, he bit his cheek accidentally and tasted blood in his mouth. The yellow feathered duck delivered a couple of quick fists into the team leader's stomach then jumped up and launched a round house into his chest, knocking him on his back. Wildwing groaned but ignored the pain, flipping to his feet he just avoided another hit. This guy was quick and when he hit it hurt.

" _I haven't taken this bad of a beating since fighting Dragaunus without the mask."_ He thought as he stood up. Remembering how Dragaunus had tossed him around the room, only with that he walked away with less bruises.

"This is the great leader of the Mighty Ducks? No wonder you haven't been able to capture Dragaunus." He did another spin kick to the side of Wildwing's head but his reflexes were quick from years of being a goalie and he caught his foot. Yanking it forward he was able to finally deliver a solid punch into Orion's stomach. Wildwing swung for his face but it was blocked. Bringing up his knee he put as much power as possible behind the hit to Orion's ribs. It pushed him back but hardly seemed like it fazed him. How could it have not fazed him?

Orion moved forward with surprising speed and grace, as if he was dancing. He ducked under another one of Wildwing's fists and punched him in the side twice in a row then kneed poor Wildwing in his already tender back. While Wildwing was stumbling forward Orion did a quick spin kick and caught him in the stomach, knocking him on his back. Wildwing felt the wind get knocked out of him as shooting pain went through his spine.

"Why does she follow you? Your no leader. You're not even a good fighter!" He grabbed the teal collar of Wildwing's shirt and punched him in the face. Wildwing wasn't used to hits in the face thanks to the mask protecting him, so when Orion's fist caught his cheek it felt like his eye was going to explode. He could already feel his cheek swelling. Another hit to the same spot and the skin broke, blood flowed from the tear in the swollen flesh. Pretty boy hit hard.

He made one more attempt to hit him back but it was a weak attempt, he could barely focus. Orion blocked it with ease, staring down at Wildwing with a disgusted look on his face. "You're fighting ability is clumsy at best. I'll give you some advice, stick to long range weapons, you don't stand a chance against someone who actually knows what they're doing. Here ends the lesson." He punched Wildwing in the face one last time, knocking him out and giving him what was sure to be a black eye. Picking up the unconscious drake, he put him back in the chair and this time tied him up with chains.

Glancing over he saw the thief was awake and had been witness to the fight. He looked at his friend and leader worried for his health. "He won't die from that beating but he'll certainly feel it when he wakes up." He informed Duke.

Duke tried everything he knew to try and get out of the chair and help Wildwing but it was no use. His anger boiled over. "If I wasn't tied to this chair-"

"You would receive the same beat down he did." Orion cut off his empty threat and pointed back at Wildwing over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Where's the mask?" It wasn't on Wildwing's face and he didn't see it anywhere.

"Oh that? Right here." He pulled it out of his side pouch, not even turning around. "Dragaunus wants this."

"You're working for Dragaunus! You slime!"

"Ha ha ha! Working _**for**_ no. Working _**with**_ yes." Orion put the mask down next to the laptop. "Dragaunus is at least smart enough not to piss me off. He knows I could get to him only too easily." Orion began typing away at the computer again, checking street cameras for Mallory's and the Migrators approach. He spotted Mallory on a duck-cycle making her way to him but no Migrator. That was shocking. Where was her back up? "Well would you look at that, here she comes." Perhaps she took his threat to heart. Good.

Duke looked over at Wildwing again. His leader looked pretty beat up, there were bruises along the side of his face, they were very visible through his pale feathers, blood dripped down his beak and over his eye. This bastard did a real number on Wing. He needed medical attention.

…..

Mallory parked the bike outside the abandon apartment building. This was it, she was going to face Orion head on. There was no way she wouldn't, she wasn't going to make that mistake again and let someone else deal with her problem. Never again. She took a breath and shoved down the overwhelming fear of him, replacing it with anger and determination. Stepping off she gingerly made her way into the building, gun out and ready to fire. Her hands shook slightly but she got it under control and walked in. She was here for her friends, there was no way she was going to let him hurt them. She'd die first.

Orion watched her from a dark window. So close now. She was so close. He shivered in excitement then placed the mask on his face. It lit up, turning gold and the eyes changing to red, showing that it was activated.

Mallory could feel his eyes on her, her feathers stood on end. Walking into the dark building, she searched every corner keeping her gun pointed in front of her. He knew she was here, there was no point in trying to hide. "WHERE ARE YOU ORION!?"

Hearing her voice Duke sat up straighter and looked at Orion, the golden mask covering his face. He had no right to wear that mask. Duke glared hatefully. Seeing the thief's glare, he smirked at him. "Time to go collect what is mine." He walked out of the room, leaving Duke and an unconscious Wildwing alone.

"Wing! You gotta wake up!" Wildwing didn't respond. Duke sighed, there was only one way to get out and he didn't want to do it but there was no choice. Standing up awkwardly with the chair chained to his back he took a deep breath and flipped forward, landing on the chair and breaking the old wood with is body weight. It hurt every time he did that move and he's broken vertebrae doing it but they needed to get out of there. Standing up, the chains slipped off himself and onto the floor. "Oh my back!" He groaned, feeling the pain of breaking the wood with his spine. He limped to Wildwing and worked on unchaining him from the chair. "Wing wake up." Duke nudged his leader, who groaned and slowly opened his eyes. At least one of them, the left eye could only open half way since it was swollen.

"Duke? How did you get out?" Wildwing asked groggily.

"I broke the chair with my body." He finally got the chains off his leader. Wildwing slumped forward but righted himself and shook his head. Duke helped him stand and put Wing's arm over his shoulder. "We've got to get the mask back. Orion's wearing it and Mallory is here. He went after her."

Wildwing's head snapped up at hearing that Mallory was here. "What have to get to her! Orion will hurt her!" He stood on his own and searched around them. His chest armor was over in the corner. Walking over he put it back on. "Where's our weapons?" He growled, ignoring all the pain he was currently in.

"I don't know but they can't be far." They went quietly from the room and searched for their weapons, turns out they were being held down the hall, guarded by robots. "We won't be able to fight those off without our weapons." Duke groaned. Things were looking bad until the robots turned around to see the lights of the Aerowing shine through the window. Grin crashed through tossing robots left and right, ripping them in half and punching others to piece. Wildwing and Duke ran in and grabbed their gear. Nosedive jumped in next shooting anything that tried to get near his brother and Duke.

"Bro! You okay?" He was distressed to see his big brother so beat up, angry he curled his free hand into a fist.

"We're fine but we need to help Mallory. She's all alone fighting Orion."

Tanya was the last one to jump in the window, she set the plane to land on auto pilot. Relieved to see Duke was fine but worried about Wildwing's condition, he looked terrible. The left side of his face was swollen from repeated punches. Ugly bruises were coloring his skin and showing clearly through his feathers. She was going to need to tend to those on the ride home but wait. Where was Mallory?

…..

Gingerly walking up the stairwell,she was careful of every step in case one gave out on her. It would be an opportune time for him to attack and Orion wouldn't hesitate to take advantage. That much was obvious.

"Mallory." She turned fast aiming her gun at the voice but froze seeing Wildwing's mask on his face.

"Where are they!" She demanded. How dare he wear the mask. He had no right! She was furious but careful not to only speak of Wildwing, she didn't want to give her feelings for him away. "Take that off you fraud. You don't deserve to wear that on your face!" Worry for Wildwing was starting to cloud her mind.

"More right to wear it then he does. His fighting abilities are ridiculously laughable. Why do you follow such a weak leader? You should be with me. I have done everything for you. I've come all this way to another dimension just to find you." He jumped down in front of her and went to reach for her, like a lover going to caress her face but she jumped back.

Orion still spoke of Wildwing in terms of present, meaning he was still alive, thank the stars. "Don't touch me you bastard!" She wanted to keep distance in between them, pulling up her gun to shoot him but he dashed forward and knocked it from her hand.

"Calm down Mallory. Let me explain. You'll understand why I did what I did and just how much I did to be with you."

"What are you talking about?" She went in and attacked, kicking and punching at him, which he blocked and dodged with ease.

"Mallory please listen. After everything that happened you shut me out. You didn't give me a chance to explain. You didn't let me explain what I was trying to do."

"I know what you did. You took eggs from my body. Used them to try and make a child with your and my DNA but the experiment failed and then you tried to make a clone of me! You violated my trust and then even worse you violated my body. What more is there to explain!"

Punching swiftly at his face only for him to dodge it. She jumped up planning to kick him but he blocked with his arms. She used his arms to flip up behind him and came back down, wrapping her legs around his neck then swinging her body and using her momentum to throw him across the room into the wall. He crashed through it on his back but flipped up to his feet. Striking while he was still getting his bearings she landed a hard kick to his face. He moved with it and spun around to back away from her enraged form.

" _Okay so she is still angry."_ He put his arms up in the defensive to block any more in coming attacks. "No. I was trying to insure your safety! Once the clone was completed then you would be free to come with me and live out our days together in peace but the military was never going to let you go! They had refused to let you go when I told them that we planned to start a life and a family together. Everything I had worked for had been crushed in a single moment!" He clenched his fists. "So I tried to find other ways of obtaining it without you breaking your contract with the military. I had wanted a child and you had talked about it too but because of your job you could never have that. So I tried to make you a child! One of our own genes and blood but it failed I wasn't able to bring our baby to life. Without a womb it was lifeless. The life giving property wasn't there! So I came up with another plan, one to get you out of the military so that you could live your life with me. I cloned you. The clone would be able to pick up your life in the Military where you left off. It would serve its time and you and I could run away together…." He seemed to be lost in a memory, his eyes un-focusing then focusing again. "But you found out and flipped out on me. You didn't see what I was trying to do for you. You tried to have me arrested! But I knew better. The military had warped your mind. It wasn't your fault. I forgave you for what you did and I escaped the same night." He turned his back to her for a moment, seemingly thinking over what he would say next, then turned to face her again, as if he had made his decision. "A year later I was contacted by Dragaunus."

Mallory gasped. Her fists falling to her sides. She didn't know what to say to all of this. "He would help me get you back from the military's clutches and in return I would lower the barrier I had built to protect us from invading forces." Mallory felt like she had been shot in the heart. Her pupils dilated in panic and horror. The gravity of what he had done sank in and brought her to her knees. She fell to them, breathing heavily, trying not to panic.

Little did she know the others had been listening in on the conversation the whole time. They hadn't revealed themselves yet but they were as blow away by the confession as she was. Mallory wanted to scream, cry, die, anything to make what he said disappear. "You… let Dragaunus in? All because you wanted to be with me?" She was sweating as she looked up at him, her eyes wide in panic.

"Yes."

She was up before Orion could predict. "HOW DARE YOU! ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIED! ALL THEIR HOMES AND LIVES DESTORYED!" She punched him in the face and then did a roundhouse kick into his stomach, moving faster than he could block. "MY FAMILY! MY TEAMMATES! THEIR FAMILIES! ALL THAT SUFFERING BECAUSE OF YOUR SELFISHNESS!" She kicked his legs out from under him and tried to stomp on his face but he rolled away. "HOW DARE YOU PUT THE WIEGHT OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON MY SHOULDERS! YOU'VE MADE ME THE CAUSE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF SO MANY LIVES! I WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF DEAD!" She jumped up to kick him in the face but he blocked her foot and punched her in the stomach. Sending her flying back through the air. Before she could hit the ground he charged forward and kicked her in the chest, knocking her ten feet back into one of the metal counters in the kitchen of one of the many abandon apartments. She slumped to the floor and he was on her in seconds. His hand went around her neck and he pinned her back against the side of the counter. Mallory gasped and choked as she clawed at his hand holding her neck.

"I only wanted to be with you! And this is how you react to my declaration of love!" He lifted her slowly into the air, her body hanging limply from his hands. "I gave everything for you!" He tossed her up and kicked her in the stomach midair. She skidded to a halt across the floor, gasping and gagging. "It doesn't matter. I'll just put another one of my devices in you and I'll make you love me." He pulled out a large syringe and approached Mallory fallen form.

He didn't see the large gloved fist before it connected with the side of his head, hitting him so hard that it knocked the mask off his face. The hit sent him off his feet and to the ground. Rolling away like he hadn't been hit, he was surprised to see Wildwing standing over Mallory protectively, she on her hands and knees, holding her stomach.

Glaring he looked around to see the other ducks approaching. "Looks like it's time for my exit." He threw down some small grey balls that exploded and covered the room in smoke. Wildwing threw his ice shield up and stood in front of Mallory to protect her from what could be an incendiary device. When the smoke cleared Orion was gone.

She looked up at her teammates. They were looking at her with varying expressions but one thing was clear… they had heard everything. Her eyes landed on Wildwing, he was so beat up, his poor face was swollen and bleeding and he was watching her with an undefinable expression. His eyes were narrowed but she wasn't sure if they were narrowed at her or just in general. She looked over a Duke and he averted his eyes, unable to keep a connection with her. Matter of fact no one was looking at her. They all were looking off somewhere else. Getting up by herself she watched everyone walk out the front door without saying a word. Nosedive picked up the fallen mask and handed it to his brother, then went to join the others outside.

"Wildwing? Are you gonna be okay?" She wanted to hug him so bad, she was so concerned but he held a hand up telling her to halt.

"I'll be fine." He walked out the door, the others were waiting for him outside. When he went passed, everyone followed him, leaving Mallory to trail behind.

…..

After Mallory told them the whole story of what happened on Puckworld, the other ducks were crowded around the kitchen, arms folded and faces angry. She wasn't used to feeling like this, guilty over something that was out of her control. Honestly what was she to do? She had been just as shocked and upset as them, possibly even more than they were but still in a way the invasion was all her fault. If she had taken care of Orion herself as opposed to letting someone else arrest him because she couldn't face him, then there was a good chance the invasion would have never happened. They wouldn't be stranded on this planet, they wouldn't have lost their homes, their families… or dear friends. Glanced at Wildwing to see him still not looking at her. He was probably thinking about Canard.

She wanted to say something but no words would leave her mouth. The apology was caught in her throat. She didn't really have anything to apologies for and yet….

"This is your fault." The first words were finally spoken and they were condemning. Tanya lifted her head and glared at Mallory. "I-if you had done your job none of us would be here in this situation today. We'd all be home, going about life as we normally do! Our friends and families would have been fine!" She yelled surprising everyone in the room but they remained silent. Mallory wanted to argue but she couldn't. However, was it really fair to blame all of this on her?

"Tanya-" She went to talk to her but Tanya reacted in anger and shoved her back into the wall. Mallory grunted when she hit, shocked that Tanya of all people had shoved her back. Tanya was always so calm and caring. The blond team tech stormed out of the room, Nosedive followed after, not looking at Mallory. Duke stared at the floor a moment and left as well. Grin shook his head and said he was going to meditate on the matter and went to his room. Wildwing was the last one to leave the kitchen. "Wildwing wait!" She called with her hand outstretched toward him. He stopped but didn't turn to her.

"I just need time to process all of this." He walked out leaving Mallory alone with her thoughts. The door closed behind him and he silently made his way down the hall. _"If it hadn't been for them, my best friend would still be alive."_ He thought as he went to his room.

Back in the kitchen, Mallory stood in the oppressing emptiness and silence. She had finally gotten what she wanted, distance from the others and she had never felt more alone. What was it Duke said to Phil. Careful what you wish for.

…..


	11. Chapter 11

I don't own the Mighty Ducks

Unrequited Love

Walking back to her room that night Mallory felt the weight of everything she'd learned from Orion. It was agonizing. She would've preferred to never know. How much more could he do to her?

Glancing around herself at the metal walls that were meant to protect them from danger. The entire underground headquarters was so strong it could be used like a nuclear fallout shelter. Everything was sustainable down here, they had their own garden with vegetables and fruits, even flowers and herbs. Electricity ran off of their own generator but only the headquarters ran off it, the Pond up above ran off of the regular power grid that the humans used. This place was a fortress yet it was only too easy for Orion to get down here and have his way with her. She shivered thinking about it. She had been worried driving out to face him but he took her friends and threatened their lives. There was no way she wasn't going to go out there to meet him, she wouldn't make the same mistake and again and not face him. Not even realizing that her body was on autopilot, her feet suddenly stopped and before she knew it she was at her door.

Looking up, she murmured softly to herself. "Here already." It was so quiet and lonely feeling, yet a sense of foreboding loomed over her. Walking into her room, it was the same, she didn't know what she was expecting. Numbly her feet moved forward to her bed but before she could sit down, her body froze. Staring at it hard, how could she lay on that. She couldn't, not when that had happened there. Taking a step back, she realized to her utter disgust and horror that the sheets, though washed every week, were the ones _**it**_ had happened in.

Her fists clenched, shaking with her sadness, anger, and disgust. Grabbing the sheets, she ripped them off the bed, tearing them to pieces and throwing them in a corner on the floor. Attacking and shredding the pillows and pillowcases next, sending feathers everywhere, not realizing that tears were running down her face. After they were destroyed Mallory dragged her feet to the furthest corner of her room. She could taste that salty liquid as it dripped from her cheek and over her beak, running along the edge into her mouth. Leaning against the wall she slid to the floor, sobbing into her hands. She hadn't cried this much since she lost her brother. Drifting in and out of the waking world around her, she couldn't differentiate between what was real or what was a dream. Both were haunted by the same image, his smirking face. Eventually she settled in the corner on the floor, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster she had been on for the past couple of weeks.

When she woke, her alarm was going off. Forgetting for a moment that she had been on the floor the whole night, Mallory stiffly stood up. Walking to the bathroom and looking into the mirror, Mallory was greeted with the unpleasant sight of bruises around her throat from Orion picking her up by her neck and choking her. Taking off the shirt she wore, she noted the ugly purple bruises over where his punches and foot connected that had sent her across the room into the counters. Bastard. She turned away from the mirror and turned on her shower, making it hot to help with the soreness. She felt terrible. Falling asleep sitting in a corner on the floor hadn't helped her already stiff body. "Never doing that again." Her thoughts drifted to Wildwing, he must have been hurting. She wanted to check on him so badly but was sure she wouldn't be welcome. However, concern for his health won over and the plans to see him were made.

Just as she finished undressing and was about to hop in the shower, her com beeped, signaling that a message came in. Checking it quickly, it said there had been a change in the schedule, practice was cancelled by Wildwing. "That's worrisome, he never cancels practice." Putting down her com she got in the shower, bathed quickly and got dressed. Walking out of the bathroom she realized what a mess her room was, feathers were all over the ground scattered around the floor and the sheets ripped to pieces. "I'll need to go buy more." She mumbled to herself as she walked out of her room, not bothering to clean up what had been a bedding massacre. If someone were to walk in they would be stunned by the condition of the usually pristine room, they'd probably assume a fight had taken place. Not that anyone would honestly care enough to check on her right now.

Walking out the door she took a right down the hall until she was in front of his door. Standing for a moment she contemplated running back to the safety of her room but brushed the weak emotion aside and knocked. There was movement, it could be heard from behind the door, for a moment she thought he wouldn't answer and was about to knock again when it opened but Wildwing wasn't the one there to greet her. Nosedive walked out and closed the door behind him. He stared at her waiting to see what she wanted, his posture and mannerism expressing that he didn't want to talk to her.

"Nosedive, is Wildwing okay?"

"As can be expected, I guess." He shrugged, looking down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Does he need anything?"

"Not from you." The words were harsh for Dive, showing his current temperament. It was a surprise to hear the venom in his words, this was the happy-go-lucky, always-happy member of the team. Hardly anything put this kid in a bad mood.

She took a breath and nodded. "Okay. See you later." Refusing to show how much it had hurt for him of all people to be so harsh with her, she turned to go back to her room.

He sighed behind her, his soft nature getting the better of him. "We just need time Mal. All of us." She turned to speak to him, only he was already walking away. Doing something with his com to occupy his time, not realizing that he was communicating with his brother who refused to speak to her.

…..

Orion sat down on a kitchen chair in his new modern safe house. The residences were a couple that was out of town on a month long vacation. The house was in a wealthier part of Anaheim. It had shiny white marble counter tops and an island with four simple metal bar stools. All the furniture had white leather cushions. It was an open floor plan so the living room wasn't separated from the kitchen, making the house feel bigger. The white furniture and pine wood floors gave it a very light and clean feeling. In front of the large white marble fire place where two white leather sofas that sat across from each other in with a fake white fur rug placed in the center. A long metal coffee table occupied the space in between the sofas with small green plants in square wooden boxes that were placed in the center side by side to add color. He chose this home because it reminded him of the apartment Mallory had back on Puckworld. It was a place he had spent many wonderful days and nights with her.

His heart ached at the memories. They used to be so happy before the military pulled him from the field and started trying to control their lives. Standing up and walking up the glass staircase to the upstairs bedroom he laid down the on the Japanese style low bed, the white and grey color-blocked bedding was plushy and supportive, just what his ribs needed from that quick hit Wildwing was able to land.

He closed his eyes and practiced his breathing exercises. Putting himself into a meditative state, his thoughts drifted to Mallory. Thoughts of how they used to always be at her apartment, about how he would spend the night and they would watch movies, talk and joke around. She would fall asleep on his chest and he would carry her to bed. He remembered how she would smile at him when made her breakfast or how she would give him a little thank you kiss when he did something she thought was sweet. He remembered how they made love and how she sounded. He remembered the feel of her skin, the way her month tasted, and the smell of her hair. He missed her, an empty ache filled his chest everyday he didn't see her. The attempt to have him arrested broke his heart, it was as if the past three years meant nothing to her. Then she disappeared chasing after Dragaunus.

The stupid lizard. Dragaunus made him a deal. Just because he was too incompetent to succeed in his plans for Puckworld didn't get him off the hook in his promise to deliver Mallory. Orion had done his part so as far as he was concerned, Dragaunus still had a contract to complete. Using the Spider-bots he had planted in the Raptor when he first visited it, he constantly was gathering information from the tiny bot. The last information he received from the bot was the code for the dimension that Dragaunus used before he completely disappeared through the gateway. So Orion knew where to find Mallory, the only issue was making a gateway generator. The parts were rare, almost impossible to find. It took him precious time to build it but when it was done, it worked perfectly. Of course he found test subjects to use it on, just to make sure it wouldn't kill him. When it was confirmed that it worked, he began preparing to hunt Dragaunus and Mallory down. The lizard hadn't been pleased when he walked into the Raptor but Dragaunus knew better than to say no to him. Dragaunus knew what he was capable of, it was the reason he came to him in the first place. Having Orion as an enemy was a dangerous thing and he wasn't willing to risk making one out of the duck. The Mighty Ducks weren't his enemy at the moment but if they got in the way of him being with Mallory then they would be and he would wipe them from existence, then Dragaunus would follow.

Orion could've had Dragaunus killed the first day he got here. With his spider-bots, he hacked each drone on that ship, including the Raptor itself. All he had to do was press a button and the whole thing would go up in one big fiery explosion or he could just have the drones kill them, simple as that but at the moment he needed the lizard. So he would play nice for now.

He continued to breath in and out through his nostrils, the pain subsiding slowly. He clenched his fists in frustration. It wasn't enough! He needed to be near her again, just to even sit next to her. He needed Jim Holst to make a bigger and better impression on her, but how was he supposed to get close to her when she was so distant. "Dammit Mallory. I need you, why are you tormenting me?" Orion opened his eyes to a robot standing next to him, holding some pain medication. He took the pills and swallowed them without water. Glancing at the robot next to him he gave it his orders. Disguise yourself as Jim Holst and stay at his apartment for the tim…." He stopped mid-sentence. "Belay that order. Stay here and keep an eye on this place, let me know if you have any trouble. I will be going to Jim Holst's apartment." He grabbed his watch off the table and changed his appearance to that of Jim Holst. He would use the time to heal and woo Mallory with his human disguise some more.

…..

Standing before it now she knew it had to go. The mattress had to go. She would buy a new one. Fuck worrying about going out alone, she didn't care. If Orion wanted to try and kidnap her while she was out, then let him try.

Sick of seeing it, she picked up one end and pulled it off the bed. Holding it sideways she dragged it out her door and down the halls of the Pond. No one was around to see what she was doing, thank the stars. Finally, at the elevator she hit the button and waited impatiently for it to come down to take her too topside. It was taking longer than usual though. "Great, someone is using it."

As predicted someone was. The doors opened letting Tanya and Duke walk out. Seeing her standing there with her mattress. Duke again looked away from her and walked by like she wasn't there but Tanya outright glared at her, wanting her to know that she was still angry but still she walked by without saying a word, following Duke down the hall. Mallory didn't wait to see where they would go, she pulled the mattress into the elevator and when she reached the top, dragged the mattress through the empty locker room towards the front doors of the Pond. She was starting to struggle getting up the stairs. It was a queen so it was heavy and its weight shifted quickly, making it unbalanced and a little hard to work with. She growled at it as it started leaning too far to the right. "Damnit! Just let me get rid of you!"

"Mallory?" She jumped at someone saying her name. Turning around she found Grin by the front doors, his face neutral.

"Grin. Hey." What was she supposed to say to him? Grin had a wife back home that he was missing every day because of Orion and her.

He walked up to her studying her bed and then herself. She looked away a little embarrassed at being caught by him, since he was the only one who would know why she was getting rid of the mattress. His eyes did a quick glance over at her neck and then back at her averted eyes. "Let me help you with that." She snapped her head back to him in disbelief. He didn't say anything else just took the mattress from her and started dragging it to the door. Realizing that he was getting far ahead she ran to catch up with him and held the door for him. He nodded and walked out, throwing her mattress in the trash and dusting off his hands. "Are you going to buy a new one today?"

"Yeah."

"I'll go with you." He dusted his hands off, placing them at his hips.

"There's no need. You don't have to babysit me because of Orion."

"You are not worried about him?"

"Let him come. I'm hoping he does. That way I can finish what we started last night." She punched her hand, demonstrating what she planned to do.

"It would be unwise to test your limits while your injured. Besides its not to babysit you. I simply wish to go for a walk with you." He started walking towards the mall and Mallory joined him. Not understanding why he wasn't angry. Not that she was upset but she just didn't understand.

"Grin? Aren't you angry at me like the others?"

"No. This isn't your fault. One way or another Dragaunus would have found a way in. Orion was just one route he took. You cannot control others actions." Grin had meditated on the matter late into the night, holding the crystal in hand that she bought for him as the replacement for his crushed one.

"Thank you Grin." Mallory spoke quietly, staring straight ahead with no emotion on her face.

"Your thanks are unnecessary. You are my friend."

…..

Wildwing glared at the horrible bruising and swelling on the left side of his face. Tanya gave him medicine from Puckworld to help take it down, most of it was gone but the bruises would heal in a week.

Putting on the mask was painful. He hissed when he tried to put it in place this morning. Unable to wear the mask, didn't allow him to protect his face from pucks so practice was cancelled. Moving around only made him too aware of the different pains in his body. Drawing attention mainly to his back where one of those robots must have hurt him when he was unconscious.

Groaning Wildwing laid on his bed. He was so sure he would be able to beat Orion into a pulp, now he realized that was naïve of him. Mallory had been afraid of this guy for a reason… Mallory. He was angry but he wasn't sure if he was angry at her or the situation. He should be angry at Orion and he was but somehow Mallory was mixed in there. Part of him did blame her for Dragaunus and the invasion, even though he knew she couldn't stop Orion's actions. Honestly if she had just seen him to jail then this wouldn't have happened. Nosedive saved him from having to deal with her this morning but at some point he needed to talk to her besides giving her orders. This all couldn't have been worse timing. They just got together the day before and then this happens. Why couldn't anything in his life be simple? He thought of his mother and her telling him to fight for what he wanted in life but right now he wasn't sure what that was.

Canard would still be here if it wasn't for all this and that's what upset him the most. He couldn't get over it. He felt like he had somehow failed his friend all over again. He wanted to avoid lashing out so he was staying in his room for the day. Nosedive would bring him food and drinks. Orders would be given out through the coms. All bases were covered for now.

Sighing he put the ice pack sitting next to his bed on his face. "This sucks."

…..

Grin helped Mallory get her new mattress to her room and on her bed. She had been able to purchase new bedsheets and pillows while out with him before they got the mattress. She picked out decorations to add, wanting to make changes to her room so that it felt like a different place. She wasn't going to be able to hide from this place now that Wildwing outright refused to see her, not that she blamed him. Another part of her was angry at him and the others, except for Grin of course. Mallory wondered how long she could keep her temper in check before she snapped on one of them. Hopefully it wouldn't be Grin. He's done nothing to deserve it.

After helping her with her mattress Grin went back to his room while Mallory laid back on her new bed. She didn't want to go anywhere else today but she was hungry. Her stomach loudly protested the idea of staying in her room and not seeking substance. She sighed and lazily pulled herself off the bed. Dragging her feet to the kitchen, hoping no one was there. Lucky for her, it was devoid of life and quickly, she made herself a sandwich. The awkwardness had been successfully avoided.

Taking her sandwich back to her room she realized how ridiculous it was that she was sneaking through the halls of her own home like some kind of unwelcome rodent but at the same time, she didn't want to deal with them. She already had so much crap on her mind that this didn't even compare. Maybe they wouldn't be so mad in a couple of days. During that time, she would make herself scarce.

Her feet padded softly down the hall, back toward her room, staring at the tops of her feet, not paying attention to where she was walking. Rounding a corner, she bounced off something pretty solid but kept her footing. Looking up she saw Wildwing standing there looking down at her. His mask wasn't on so she could see the bruising around his face but the swell must have gone down. "Wildwing…" He stared at her, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Uh, how are you feeling?"

"…Fine."

"That's good. I was worried about you." She wanted him to know that she cared for him. "Is there anything you need?" She was worried about Wildwing's reaction to her question. Would he react the same way Nosedive did?

"No. I'm fine." It wasn't cold but it was closed off. He was careful to keep the tone of his voice as neutral as possible. She didn't realize that seeing her face caused an ache in his chest. He was torn between what he felt for her and how he felt about what happened.

"Okay." She wasn't sure what else to say to him but didn't have to think about it for long as he walked around her heading in the direction she had come from. She wanted to ask him where he was going and if he wanted company but the words wouldn't leave her mouth as she watched his retreating form get smaller. He turned down the hall towards the rec room where the others were and knew better then to follow. The moment she walked in everyone would just glare or ignore her. She heard the swish of a door opening, the sound of laughter was carried down the corridor to her until it closed behind him, signaling that he was no longer in the corridor with her.

Her presences would only bring a stop to the joyous sounds that had been vacant from these halls as of recent. With great effort she forced her feet to walk in the opposite direction, back to her hollow room. Every step seemed to make the emotional distance that descended between her and the team, bigger than it already was. By walking away and not confronting the issue, she was accepting more and more that she was no longer apart of them.

…..

Three days have gone by and they finally had their first practice since the Orion incident. Needless to say it didn't go well. Everyone still barely talked to her but Tanya to her surprise was outright rough with her on the ice. Anything that had to do with leaving Puckworld or going back to it got a strong reaction out of Tanya, so it didn't surprise Mallory that she was taking it the hardest but this was ridiculous. The normally more calm and gentle blond duck had done a flip, it was like they had switched places. She was on the one who was supposed to be rough and untrusting, not Tanya. Mallory realized that this was a reaction because Tanya felt betrayed and hurt. So the first practice she ignored it, thinking maybe Tanya needed to take her anger out on her a little. She went on as if nothing happened but steadily a week went by and it was only getting worse.

Mallory snapped after Tanya clobbered her hard against the boards, everyone cringed at the hit. She didn't see it but Wildwing took a step forward in unconscious concern that Mallory might have been hurt. Tanya hadn't been expecting it when the red-head sprang up and shoved her hard, pushing her far back across the ice. She started coming at Tanya ready for a fight when Duke and Grin stepped in between them. Tanya for her part had been given a little reality check. Mallory may have been smaller then her but if she were to try and take Mallory in a real fight, the petite red-head would lay her out every time. Inside her small frame was a powerhouse fighter, trained to ruthlessly take down her opponents in the most efficient way possible.

Nosedive stood off to the side unsure of who he wanted to side with and Wildwing didn't do anything to intervene or correct the situation. Sick of her unfair treatment, Mallory had finally had enough. Angrily she threw her hockey stick down on the ice at her feet and declared her resignation from the team.

No one stopped her as she left the ice, most too shocked to react. Grin sighed disappointed that this had been the outcome.

…..

Mallory's fists collided in rapid secession with her hapless opponent. She took her frustrations out on the bag as it swayed with every hit. Switching it up she started throwing some kicks in with her punches.

Two days since she had quit the team and she had no idea what she was going to do. Was she even going to be welcomed to stay here in the Pond? She didn't think they'd go so far as to throw her out since she wasn't a mighty duck anymore but given recent behaviors, she wasn't so sure. Perhaps looking for another place to live was in order. She had made plenty of money from being an alien sports star on Earth, she technically didn't need a job. She could live off of what she currently had. It was an option but Dragaunus and Orion were still out there. Orion would never leave her in peace so she didn't want to be on her own. It didn't leave her with a lot of options. "If only I had someone I could stay with."

Finished beating up her punching bag, she took off her gloves and un-taped her knuckles. Even with her knuckles taped up she still somehow managed to get boxing cuts in between her fingers. She was hitting harder then she thought. The skin on her knuckles under her peach colored feathers were showing discoloration, promising future bruises.

She walked to her bathroom, turning on the shower and jumping in. She scrubbed the soap into her feathers, getting a good foam and rinsing it off. In the two days that she had quit, no one but Grin had come to check on her, at least he was still a friend. Then there was her relationship with Wildwing, as far as she was concerned, that was over. He made it abundantly clear that he had no interest in even talking to her, let alone being with her. Mallory wished that she had never gone to him for comfort that night, that she had never joined him on the sofa. That she had never kissed him or made love with him. It just made his current rejection sting even more. The kind of rejection that tore at the heart and left it hollow.

Finishing up her shower, she dried off and changed into fresh clothes. Walking to her bed and falling back onto it, staring at the ceiling as she lost herself in her thoughts. "If they want to be mad at me and use me as the scapegoat then let them." She didn't need or want their help anyway. She would deal with Orion on her own. That was fine, it was what she should have done in the first place. Something in her gut told her that this wasn't a fight that she would be walking away from.

Her thoughts were distracted by the sound of her phone ringing loudly. Glancing over she saw Jim's number on it. Wondering if she should answer she watched it ring for a moment, then decided to pick it up. "Hey Jim." She could use more friends right now and Jim was very willing.

"Hey Mallory. Any chance you have some free time soon?" Jim's voice came over the phone.

" _Plenty."_ The red-head thought to herself, thinking about how she had quit the team. It left her schedule frustratingly open. _"Wait maybe Jim could help me?"_ She suddenly was sitting up at attention on the bed. "Jim. I have something I want to ask you…"

…..

Duke stared in the mirror at his side. It was done healing but the deadly cut would forever leave a scar under his feathers. "Oh well. Add it to the list." He mumbled running his fingers over it. It could hardly be seen under his feathers but definitely felt. Tanya was sitting in on his sofa wrapped in just a blanket. Ever since that night under the stars she had taken to staying in his room a lot more often. It was nice having her here with him, besides with Orion able to get into the Pond, he didn't feel comfortable with her being alone, even though she wasn't the one Orion was after. That was reserved for Mallory. He sighed. _"Mallory had been so afraid when he came after her at the night club but still even with all that fear she faced him to save me and Wing. Could've been easy."_

Putting his shirt back down he stared into the mirror more intensely. _"If Mallory hadn't been there in the crash and given me the instruction that she did, I probably wouldn't be standing here now."_ Guilt hit him in the chest. Was it really fair to blame Mallory for this? If there was anyone to blame it was Orion but part of him did blame her. If she had made sure that Orion had gone to jail, then none of this would have happened, right? Or would it have? No, this was foolish. Mallory couldn't be blamed for this. They let their emotions get the better of them on this one. She was more alone than ever now and she was frightened, they needed to be there for her.

He glanced over at Tanya, she was still very angry at Mallory. When he mentioned anything that had to do with Mallory, Tanya was instantly on guard and with the fight that just happened between them, he didn't know how she would react to him bringing it up.

Walking out of his bathroom he looked at the blond duck who was laughing at something on the tv. Her hair was up in a ponytail instead of her usual look and her blue eyes squinted cutely behind her glasses when she laughed, it made him smile. Seeing him standing in the doorway and studying her, the busty blond turned away from the tv and tilted her head at him in curiosity. "What's wrong Duke?" She could tell something was bothering him.

"It's just Mallory." He leaned his back against the door. Tanya narrowed her eyes and sat up, turning the tv off in the process. She crossed her arms and waited for him to go on. "Is it really fair that we blame her for this?"

Narrowing her eyes even more she huffed and leaned back into the sofa. "Why are we talking about this?"

"Mal Mal's always been there for us in our time of need. If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead." He shrugged.

Tanya wanted to be angry at him for defending Mallory but perhaps he had a point. Mallory did save Duke's life with her instruction. The blond surprisingly seemed to deflate, her arms dropped to her lap as she gazed off to the side. Looking back on how she treated Mallory as of recent she felt bad but she missed Puckworld so much! Being away from it was agonizing. The pain tore at her heart every day. She knew when it came to their home world, she always got a little emotional and maybe a little irrational. If she could she would say screw the mission, let's just leave but that option wasn't available to them. So maybe she was being unfair, maybe Duke was right. She didn't have much time to think about it since the alerts on their watches went off. They had practice.

"How about we talk more about this later?" Tanya asked as she threw on her clothes.

"Sure." He nodded, getting dressed himself.

…..

Five hockey players walked to the elevator that would take them up to the rink so they could gear up and begin practice. Nosedive said something that made Duke and Tanya laugh, while Grin and Wildwing listened in on the conversation. Everyone had been in a pretty good mood as of recent. It felt like things were finally getting back to normal only they weren't. Mallory hadn't been seen except for when she went to get food and even that was rare. Since she declared herself no longer apart of the team Mallory was like a ghost, so no one was expecting it when the elevators opened and the pretty red-head walked out.

Wildwing's eyes widened slightly, after not seeing her for a week he didn't realize that he missed her face. There was nothing in her eyes when she looked up at him. All chatter and laughter had stopped instantly. They watched her walk by without a single greeting from either side. She did not greet them and they did not greet her, it was as if they were strangers.

Wildwing watched her walk away, he wanted to asked her to join them but held himself back. It still hurt to see her and know that she had a connection with their home world's invasion, resulting in Canard's death. He turned away from her retreating figure and joined the others in the elevator. No one said anything on the way up to the rink, a cloud hung over them, heavy and depressing.

…..

Mallory was hoping to leave without them seeing her at all, she was going to have to go passed them since the elevator and the emergency stairs up was the only way too topside besides the garage and she wasn't taking one of the bikes. Both exits lead right to the front where they would see her leaving while they practiced. Crap.

Going to her room she looked everything over. It looked like she still lived here, with the exception that her hockey uniform was folded up neatly on her bed and some of her clothes were missing. _"Boy, buying a new mattress had been pointless hadn't it."_ She thought to herself as she looked at her bed, it was still made. Looking ready for her to come sleep in it. She shivered, trying not to think about her old bed, she still was having a hard time coming to terms with what happened.

Toiletries would be bought later and her bike was all packed with the small number of clothes she would be taking. All that was left was her weapons, which sat on the floor next to her in another medium sized gym bag. Picking it up she hosted it over her shoulder and glanced at her bedroom one last time. She was leaving another home and another family. "Such as life." She closed the door behind her and took the emergency stairs up too topside. 

As predicted the others were playing a practice game and were pretty into it. Maybe she would be able to get out without them seeing her after all. Walking quickly to the door, she didn't glance back once.

No one called out or tried to stop her. One could only assume they didn't see her or didn't care. Either way it wasn't going to change anything if they did. It was time to face this problem head on and no one else should be pulled into the middle of it. She placed her bag of weapons in her bike and closed the seat, then placed the helmet on her head. Starting the bike, she revved the engine. She was ready to go when hands were suddenly on her handlebars stopping her from going anywhere.

…..

Wildwing watched Mallory from the corner of his eye, carrying a bag with her. Where was she going? She walked out the front door and he called a halt to the practice game and had everyone run drills while he chased after Mallory. Changing into his regular clothes by hitting his chest piece, he ran out the door and around the side of the Pond to her hidden bike. He arrived just in time to see her getting ready to take off. Without thinking he jumped in front of her and grabbed her handlebars, pressing his thumbs down on the breaks. "Mallory! What are you doing? Where are you going?"

She sat up a little straighter, he couldn't see her face under the dark helmet. "Out." Smacking one of his hands away, hoping he would get the idea that he needed to leave her alone but Wildiwng was stubborn.

"No. Don't lie to me. I want the truth; I at least deserve that!" His hand went back to the handlebar. He couldn't see it but Mallory's eyes widened behind the helmet then narrowed angrily.

"I quit remember." He stared at her still not understanding. She wanted to smack him for being stupid sometimes. "I'm no longer a part of this team. You don't continue living with the team that you quit."

He was speechless. While that was true, they were in a very different situation. Where would she go? What about Orion? Wasn't she worried about him? While distracted by his thoughts Mallory smacked his hands off the bike and shoved him to the side. Not giving it a second thought the militaristic duck sped away. Leaving her previous team and home behind.

…..


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unrequited Love

Wildwing walked back to the front doors of the Pond. He felt horrible. Mallory shouldn't have felt unwelcomed enough that she had to leave, this was his fault. He should have put a stop to the blaming the moment it started happening. Opening his com, he hoped to track her location so he could bring her back but her tracking was deactivated. "Great. So she's out there alone with a psycho after her. Way to handle the situation Wildwing. Real pro." He scolded himself. Yes, he may have been angry but he didn't want her to get hurt, that was the last thing he wanted. A shiver went down his spine at the thought of what Orion might do to her if he caught her. _"No way am I letting that happen."_ He had no doubt in his mind that the crazy duck would try to take advantage of Mallory but she was so strong that he highly doubted he could. It soothed him to know she was so strong.

As he walked in the doors Grin was standing there waiting for him. "Where is Mallory?"

"She left, for good or at least that's her intention." Grin's face was distressed so Wildwing attempted to calm him. "Don't worry I'll go get her back. I just have to figure out how to find her." He took a deep breath, he didn't want to make Grin even more distressed by seeing his distress, they needed to see a calm and collected leader.

"Wildwing, it's not safe for her out there alone. Orion will get to her. He has before."

"I know."

"No you don't. Mallory hasn't told you everything."

That gave Wildwing pause. "What do you mean?"

Grin looked down, contemplating telling him. "…It's not my place to say."

"Grin what is it?" The big duck didn't say anything. "Grin please tell me."

"Orion got to her while she was here in the base."

"I know." Wildwing looked at Grin oddly.

"No he _**got**_ to her."

"What do you mean?" The sinking feeling filled his stomach again.

…...

Grin hadn't been expecting his team captain to fly into a rage. Everyone watched from a distance as Wildwing seemingly lost his mind and tore apart the locker room. Tanya hid behind Duke, clutching at his arm nervously while Nosedive attempted to go stop his brothers outrage but Grin wouldn't let him. This kind of anger needed to run its course without interruption, Grin only knew too much about anger, he had a lot of it when he was a kid.

Meanwhile Wildwing continued to take out his anger on the locker room. _"He raped her! Waited for us to leave and got her when she was all alone! She was all alone! Like she is now! And I let this happen."_ Grins face had been one of remorse and anger when he told Wildwing. Grin reiterated to him what Mallory had spoken in confidence while holding her crying form in the meditation circle. "FUUUUUCCCCKKK!" He tore his locker door off and threw it across the room. _"The bastard violated Mallory! My Mallory."_ Exhausted he slumped to the floor, breathing hard and staring at nothing in particular.

…..

Arriving at Jim's apartment, she found him outside waiting for her. His apartment was more like a small but modern town house only it stood on its own. It was a white and black concert building with three levels and had large windows, giving an excellent view of the trees and forest that surrounded him. Outside in the back was an extensive Japanese garden, complete with a pond and red bridge. This place wouldn't have been cheap to rent, Jim must have had some money that didn't come from the military.

He smiled and offered to carry her bags in. He was cute with how excited he seemed at the thought of her staying. Like a gentleman he took her bags from the bike and threw them over his shoulder. Leading her to the medium sized but modern apartment. Mallory smiled at Jim and followed him in, grateful that he was kind enough to let her stay while trying to find a place of her own. She wasn't going to stay for long but she just needed somewhere to go that wasn't surrounded by teammates who hated her… correction ex-teammates.

Walking in the front door, she saw the kitchen and dining room were on the bottom floor. Taking her shoes off at the front to be polite, she then followed him up the stairs to the right side of the room. On the second floor was the living room and entertainment center. He had a large 'C' shaped sofa that could easy fit twelve in the middle of the room, his dark wood floors contrasted against the light grey multi colored brick walls that went around the room. With the brick walls and high ceilings, the living room felt like a loft apartment. It had two large windows, one that faced the back of the apartment so that you could look out at the garden in the back, it covered the whole wall. The other faced the front of the apartment but it shared the wall with a large glass door that lead out to a balcony that went all the way around the building. Some chairs sat out there with a small café table so that you could have a coffee outside if you wished. The entertainment center matched the dark wood on furniture and a large flat screen tv sat in the center of it. Mallory couldn't help but admire his taste. He led her up to the final floor which was the bedrooms and took her to a room on the left. The walls were grey with white pictures hung along them for contrast. A large window covered one wall, giving a view of the trees and garden behind the apartment. There was a door to her right when she entered, it was a modern bathroom just for guests. The bed was a queen sized bed with white sheets and a dark grey comforter.

"I hope you like it. It's a very comfortable bed." Jim said as he placed her things down in the corner on a low table.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me stay with you for a few days. It shouldn't take long for me to find a place of my own."

"Please Mallory, stay as long as you like. I wouldn't mind it if you moved in permanently." He smirked and leaned against the door frame to her room. "Well I'll let you get settled and when you're done feel free to join me."

"Okay." She smiled at him as she unzipped her bag that held her clothing and began organizing the room. Jim went back downstairs to the living room and turned the tv on.

…..

Orion sat on the large plushy couch thinking about how the woman he was in love with was going to be sleeping in the room next to him. It would be tempting not to go in at night and take her as his but he had to be careful. He needed her to fully trust Jim Holst for the time being.

He still needed to build another mind control device since he used this last one on Wildwing. He would need to go back to his other hideout and grab the tools necessary to make it, cause he had none of that equipment here. Perhaps he should meet one of his robots and have it hand off the equipment but that still left him scrambling to build the thing and the robots couldn't do it. Mallory would be dedicated to hunting him while here, he had no doubts about that. Perhaps he should have her hunting a robot that looks like him. That could work. That way when she was gone he could work. It would take several days to build it but that should be fine if she was out hunting someone that she thought was him. He smirked to himself as he leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head, using them as a pillow. Yes, that would work and every once in a while, he would actually let her chase him. Make a fun little game out of it so that he could tease his sweet little vixen.

A cruel smirk spread across Orion's face. She was all his now. He quickly wiped the look away when he heard her walking back down the stairs. "Glad you could join me beautiful." He offered her a seat on the sofa which she took with a nod. Sitting down close to him and crossing her lovely legs. His eyes trailed over her prefect form as she watched tv, unaware of how he was looking at her.

" _Oh yes, she is all mine."_

…..

After dinner and tv, Mallory went to bed at ten and wished Jim a goodnight. He stayed downstairs to watch some more television, saying he was not quite ready for bed yet.

She went upstairs and began planning how she was going to find Orion. Honestly the best thing to do would be to let him come to her but she didn't want to wait for him to stalk and close in on her, she wanted to be the one that got the upper hand on him. When Mallory laid down she practically sank into the bed, it's plushy comforter surrounded her body, keeping her cozy and placing her in a deep sleep.

…..

Around four in the morning, Jim's bedroom door opened quietly, the imposter walked out without making a sound and gently tested Mallory's door knob. It was unlocked. He turned the knob and peaked inside, Mallory was asleep, completely unaware of the danger that hovered in her doorway. Stealthy he entered the room and closed the door behind him, moving as if he floated he went to stand over her bed, watching his sleeping temptress. So completely vulnerable and so completely unaware that she was already in his hands. A gentle breeze floated through the room from an open window, it brushed over the bed and it's sleeping occupant. The breeze carried her scent up to him and made him shiver. Orion's hand stretched out to gently move some hair that fell in her face from the breeze. With the back of his fingers he caressed her silky cheek. The feel of her feathers brought back vivid memories of the day he had her back in her underground base. Her swelling curves were covered in the peach colored feathers that were so invitingly soft. She had no idea how much he loved her.

" _Passion, we are slaves to it. We must obey it. Cause without it then we're not really living. To not have her is to be dead and I intend to live my life to the fullest."_ He watched her sleep soundly on the large comfortable bed. _"So close. So close that I can taste her scent on my tongue when I breath…. However, I can't do anything that would give her cause for alarm. If she were to wake up with a different taste on her beak from one kiss she might notice. I must be patient but even here next to her I am not at peace, not until I am one with her."_ He clenched his fists to stop himself from continuously touching her. Even this was dangerous. Forcing himself away he went to his room and closed the door. "She makes me burn in ways I never thought I could." He fell back on the bed and draped his forearm over his eyes. "It's going to be a long week."

Orion laid there with his arm over his eyes, thinking about the past.

Flashback:

 _Orion started another day as the lead scientist of Puckworld Special Forces. He and Mallory had been talking about the future and the conversation still left him feeling like he was walking on air. They wanted to get married and have a family once they fulfilled their contracts with the PSF. It was perfect, it would only be another year before the contracts needed to be renewed, so his happy future wasn't too far away. It was just enough time for him to complete what he needed to do here and find another job so that he could be with his family more and support them which shouldn't be too hard to find for him. Orion grabbed his coffee and made his way down to the labs below, it was time to start his day._

 _His white lab coat was a little small for his large shoulders, so when he moved his arms around to work it squeezed down on his shoulders. A minor inconvenience but he could make due. Out of the side of his eyes he could see Bard, the head of PSF and other council members that were high up in state through a large glass window on the side of the room. They were here to watch him demonstrate this new serum that should make a super soldier. He was leery to move ahead this so quickly but Bard was insistent that they try. Orion reluctantly went along with it but still warned Bard about the possible consequences._

 _So far tests have shown that the super soldier serum works in the beginning but after time the subject suffers from fever, fall into crippling pain and then finally start to lose their mind. The first round of serum caused a complete break with reality. Some subjects lost their minds completely, they saw things that weren't there and they became delusional and violent. The second round was improved upon and the effects were less but still there. The soldiers become stronger and healed quickly but in a weeks' time they started to show signs of obsessive behaviors. In the third round, the soldiers became super strong, they healed fast and the serum pushed their adrenaline into hyper drive, not allowing their brains to register pain. This was bad because went they hurt themselves badly they couldn't feel it and ended up hurting themselves even worse but despite this Bard thought it looked promising. It was almost considered a success until one soldier just dropped to the ground in the middle of a fight and had a seizure. Orion acted quickly and had to flush his system of the drug in order to save his life. These men weren't just subjects, they were his friends, he didn't want anything bad to happen to them so when something like this did happen he personally made sure they were well taken care of. Orion wanted to start over but Bard pushed it off as a bad reaction to the serum by that one soldier. Orion was forced to continue to use the serum until more started dropping, soon every single soldier that used that specific serum started having seizures. Now with Bard forced to acknowledge that Orion was right, he was granted the permission to go back to the drawing board and start over. He completely recreated the serum and turned it into a gas form due to the different chemicals and compounds required._

 _That brought him to his demonstration with Bard and the council. He had the fourth round ready to go but everything went wrong. The soldier was put into the glass chamber and it slowly filled with the gas. Everyone watched tensely as they waited for it to finished being absorbed only it never got the chance. The soldier's mind was affected instantly, it was an overdose, they had used too much. He started banging on the glass, violently bashing his fists into it until it started cracking not caring that he was slowly breaking his hand and that his knuckles were being shattered. Orion went to hit the knockout gas in the chamber but before he could reach it the soldier broke the glass on the chamber and the gas quickly flooded out into the rest of the room. The effects on Orion and anyone else in there were immediate and Orion lost consciousness._

 _When he woke up later he found himself strapped down to a medical bed in one of the many labs. His arms and feet were chained and a bright light was high over his head. Not long after waking Bard came in. He told Orion that he couldn't let him leave yet, that they had to make sure that the gas didn't affect him negatively. Orion had been patient and let him test him but after a week he lost his patience. He had not seen or spoken to Mallory once in all the time they kept him there. They wouldn't let him contact her in any way. Most of the time he spent strapped down to a table being poked and prodded with needles. When he would say that she was probably concerned for him and would come looking for him they would just keep saying that they had taken care of it. What the fuck did that even mean? That they lied and told her he was fine when he wasn't. Probably. He didn't care what they wanted he just wanted to see Mallory. That was all he wanted, Mallory._

 _During the nights, the fever took hold of him. He started shaking and screaming profanities at the ceiling for hours on end. He would scream Mallory's name and curse at the pain his body was in while he laid strapped down to a cold steel table. Everything he had done for them and they couldn't treat him better than this? Thoughts of Mallory were the only thing that helped him get through it. Thoughts of her smiling face, of how she told him she loved him._

 _He would think about some of the stuff he would do with her. Stuff like watching her sleep when he woke up before her in the morning or skating through the city with her. The simplest thought of holding hands, kissing, or making love seemed to be the only thing that kept him going. Whenever he thought of her it calmed him and the serum didn't hurt as much. She was his rock, she saw him through the storm and saved him. Then the fever and the pain would finally subside and he would pass out from exhaustion._

 _Once the serum had runs its course and was out of his system, he was finally released. They told him that he would need to get regular testing done on a weekly basis to make sure no permanent damage was done. They also informed him that no one, including Mallory McMallard was to know about what happened. If he told anyone he would be sent to jail and so would the persons that he told. This was all top secret stuff and he knew this already because it was in his contract but for some reason it ruffled his feathers wrong now. Did they think they could control his life? Did they think that they owned him or her? He stewed over it in the back seat of the limo the whole drive back to his house where Mallory was waiting for him. He was so angry that he didn't bother looking at the outside world as it passed by on the drive home. When they dropped him off, he opened the door and slammed it shut behind himself. Completely forgetting that Mallory was there._

" _Orion?" He froze hear her voice, it had only been a week and a half but to him it felt like a month. She walked out of the kitchen and gave him a megawatt smile. Her red hair was down but pushed back out of her face. In the next instant her arms were wrapped around him, giving him a big welcome home hug and kiss. She told him how she missed him and how she loved him. Orion could only stare at her like he was seeing her for the first time. All of the anger toward the PSF was washed away in an instant with her touch and sweet words. God he had missed her. Slowly a smile broke out across his beak and he kissed her again. Not bothering to ask, he picked her up in his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom where he spent the night showing her how much he missed her. Reveling the sounds of her soft sighs and feel of her gentle caresses._

 _The next morning an hour was spent just watching her sleep peacefully. How was she able to make everything better with just a hug or a kiss? She was so beautiful. Many times they had talked about marriage and children. Mallory wanted to be a mom one day and he wanted more than anything to make that happen but he couldn't do it when they both lead such dangerous lives._

 _Not even a week later he handed in his resignation and told them that Mallory would be handing in hers too. They were going to start a family together. He was sure she would agree with his decision but Bard told him that he couldn't and that neither could Mallory. They both had a contract that they signed and they were legally obligated to fulfill it until it's expiration. Orion had been furious, that was when he started planning ways to get what he wanted._

End Flashback:

He would have gotten away with it too if Mallory hadn't flipped out on him. He was sure Bard somehow got to her. As far as he was concerned this was all Bard's fault. When he got back to Puckworld with Mallory, Bard would pay but right now he needed her to see the light and come back to him. He lifted his arm off his face and looked at the door that would led out to the hall and to Mallory's room. He wanted her so bad. It wasn't fair that he was forced to wait because of what Bard did but it wasn't her fault. He would make her see and understand that what he was doing was for the best. Rolling over he forced himself into a light sleep.

…..

Wildwing stood next to Tanya and Duke at Drake One, Mallory had turned off her tracking but they could still use the human's camera's and security to figure out where she had gone. Tanya typed frantically away at the keyboard, guilt had overridden her earlier anger. Mallory had left because of the way she had been treated and she had by far been the worst one to her. The blond tech was kicking herself for her behavior.

They didn't know what set Wildwing off back in the locker rooms, he wouldn't talk about it. Once their leader had calmed down he gave out orders to track and find Mallory. It wasn't going to be easy but she would do it. She owed Mallory that much. Tanya sighed, looking down at her lap, feeling lousy in general. Seeing her forlorn expression, Duke placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze to comfort her. The blond tech glanced over her shoulder at the resident thief and personal heartthrob. His eyes spoke volumes and she was grateful for his support. Gently she placed her hand over his, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. They would fix this; they would make it right.

Wildwing saw the sweet moment between them and didn't know what to think of the pang of jealously at being able to be intimate with each other so openly. He wanted to be able to do that with Mallory. _"That's my fault. If I didn't act the way I did, she would be here right now, with me."_ He let them have their moment before giving out orders to have Drake One search for their wandering teammate while they rested. With that set up everyone went off to bed to rest. Duke and Tanya walked off hand in hand to Tanya's room. Wildwing gave Nosedive and Grin updates over the com and went to his own room. He knew he would find no sleep tonight, not when she was out there by herself. "Please be safe Mallory."

…..

Mallory woke up the next day well rested. The smell of food wafted up from the kitchen on the bottom floor making Mallory's stomach growl. Sitting up and giving a monster stretch had her ready to greet the day. Throwing on some causal clothes, the red head made her way down to the bottom floor where Jim was standing in front of the stove cooking French toast. Hearing her feet pad gently down the stairs he turned and smiled at the pretty duck. "Good morning. Breakfast?"

"Yes please." Mallory sat down at his dining table where a glass of orange juice was waiting for her. Sipping on the heavy pulp orange juice, Mallory was pleasantly surprised to find it was fresh squeezed. She loved fresh squeezed orange juice. "Wow this is really good."

"Nothing but the best." Jim laughed, brought her plate over and set it down in front of her.

"Thank you. Looks delicious." Grabbing the syrup from the middle of the table and applying a moderate amount, she took a bit and groaned at the first bite. "Oh wow. You can cook."

"Yeah. It's a talent I learned just to impress the ladies." Jim winked at her from across the table. They joked around as they ate and made flirty conversation. After ten Mallory went back upstairs and started preparing to seek out and track down Orion.

As she prepared, Orion began preparing to carry out his plans for that night as well. He needed to get his equipment and make the new mind control device. It would take the whole day but he couldn't risk Mallory discovering him. He would need a distraction, that was where the robots came in. She would no doubt go back to that old house and look for clues as to his whereabouts. There was nothing there that would help her but a robot would be waiting to either lead her on a wild goose chase or capture her and hold her for a time. Long enough to let him finish building the device. Once the device was built the games would be over and she would be his. He could drop his disguise as Jim Holst and make her see the truth. She would either agree or fight him. If she fought then he would use the device, simple as that.

…..

Mallory thanked Jim for breakfast and let him know that she had some work to do. He gave her a key to the apartment and told her he had some errands to run as well. She thanked him again and made her way to her bike.

She needed to investigate the last place Orion stayed. When she arrived there was still police tape around the house but everything around was dead quiet. Careful not to tear any of the tape she made her way into the house. She spent hours upon hours searching the rooms only to come up with nothing. It was already night time and she hadn't found anything that could be useful to lead her to Orion. Frustrated and angry Mallory stepped outside to get some air, her eyes scanning the dark tree line behind the house for anything unusual. Seeing how dark it was Mallory felt a creeping sensation crawl up her spine, her instincts telling her she shouldn't be out here alone in the dark. Carefully she walked back to her motorcycle and started it, it roared to life and lite up the road before her with the large light on the front. Driving away from the dark house she planned to head back to Jim's when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. There he was, watching her on a motorcycle of his own. He just stared at her with no emotion, she thought he had somehow frozen into a solid statue when he suddenly hit the gas and turned the bike away, making a run for it. Mallory didn't think, she just reacted and gave chase.

"You're not getting away!" She yelled at him. He acted like he didn't hear her, instead he went faster and led her all the way to a semi destroyed building by the water. He disappeared on his bike around a corner and she followed behind him. Turning the corner, he was no were to be found. He and his bike were gone. _"What? Where did he go?"_ She stopped and took in her surroundings, trying to find where he could hide. "Damnit all." She said angry he had gotten away when she was suddenly pulled off her bike by strong hands. Without the kick stand up, the heavy cycle crashed on its side loudly.

She looked up at the person holding her and of course found Orion's face looking back. "Hello Mallory." Orion had finally captured her and she walked right into it.

…..

Tanya sat in front of Drake One with her coffee in hand. She had been relentless searching for Mallory since Wildwing's freak out. It was eight o'clock at night and still she hadn't found anything. Duke walked in seeing Tanya slumped over the keyboard in frustration. "Hey, you okay Sweetheart?"

"Oh yeah I'm just a little tired." Tanya sat up and started typing away at Drake One again, checking local street cameras to see if Mallory had passed by one and at what time.

"Why don't you take a break. You've been at it all day." Duke placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them.

Tanya didn't want to give up but she needed a break. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stop for a little bit. "Yeah. Maybe your right." She stood up and walked with Duke's arm around her waist towards the door when the computer suddenly went off. Both ducks ran back to it and with new energy Tanya found what they had been looking for. Mallory was seen in pursuit of Orion down by the water.

Duke opened his com and called the others. "Wildwing we've got a location on Mallory!"

…..

Her arms ached and her shoulders felt like they were in knots. Her eyes studied the room he had dragged her to, it was a cold dark room with broken tiles falling off the walls. "What are you going to do?" She asked, speaking for the first time since he captured her.

"Look who decided to start talking again." His voice came from the darkness behind her. Mallory tried to look over her shoulder but it hurt too much to turn her neck. Hands were suddenly on her hips. "You're finally in my hands again." She hissed at him and attempted to move away from his touch. At the sound of her hiss he let go of her. "Still so angry."

"You bastard. When I get out of here you'll wish you never met me." Walking around to face her he took her chin in his fingers.

"I would never wish for such a thing. We're soul mates."

"No we're not."

"Why fight it? You know we are." She yanked her head from his fingers only for him to grab her chin more harshly, painfully digging his fingers in so that she couldn't pull away as he turned her head to face him again. "Stop fighting. Your friends will never find you. Stay with me Mallory." She spit in his face, causing him to jerk his head back. Wiping her spit off his cheek, he shook his head at her in disappointment. "If you think this will deter me than you're wrong." His mouth was almost on hers when she painfully slipped her chin from his grip.

"You're out of your mind!" What had she been thinking chasing after him by herself. Now she was at his mercy!

"I'm not. How can you be so stubborn?" But before anything else could happen the sounds of someone breaking into the large abandon building made them both look at where it came from. He smirked down at her. "Don't go anywhere."

Once he disappeared out the door Mallory yanked on her chains, slowly she was able to slip her small wrists free. No chance she was sticking around here for him to come back. She was out of here. Her strategy would need to be rethought, but first she had to make sure he didn't hurt anyone. Grabbing her guns, Mallory took off in hot pursuit of Orion.

…..

"Be on your toes team. We don't know what will be waiting for us in there." Wildwing told everyone as he led them into the building. Slowly they checked around the bottom floor and came to a room that was out in the open air. Parts of the building were crumbled off, clearly having fallen into the water below. "There's nothing here, let's move to the next area." Wildwing said leading them out.

Nosedive watch his brother walk mechanically around. He had never seen his brother so upset. Mallory's disappearance hit Wildwing hard, harder than Nosedive thought it would hit him. After his brother's incident in the locker room, the younger duck felt the weight of what was happening to their team more heavily now. No matter what had happened in the past they needed to remain united to bring an end to all conflicts. He sighed as he watched his teammates walk out after Wildwing. They all felt the dark heavy cloud that had descended over them, especially their leader.

Nosedive wouldn't admit it out loud but he actually missed Mallory. She went to comic shops with him and even joked around with him. Not to mention it wasn't as much fun to play pranks on people. She reacted so strongly that he got more enjoyment out of it. They needed to find her. Nosedive didn't realize he was being left behind by the group and that someone was watching him from a level above.

Looking around himself he now saw that everyone had already left the room. Picking up his feet, he began to follow until he noticed a ledge that was hidden from view. Curiosity got the best of him and he climbed up to investigate.

…..

Icy mechanical eyes watched its soon to be prey as it stuck to the shadow, stalking. The group of ducks were searching the area looking for him but the youngest split off from the group, clearly lost in thought. The robot watched the kid and through the robot's eyes Orion observed and gave orders.

He smirked when the youngest duck walked opposite of the hidden robot. Seeing the kid start to climb up onto an old ledge, Orion gave the robot orders to drown the brat. It observed and calculated the most efficient way to carry out its orders. If it shot the ledge just right, a large portion of the concert would break off and drown him in the water below. Taking aim, it hit right on target. Nosedive looked back to see a smirking Orion as the large chuck fell off and pushed him down into the water below.

Mallory arrived just in time to see Orion shoot the concert, watching as the large slab of concert fell off with Nosedive hanging on the side. It plunged him into the water under it and pushed him to the bottom. She rushed down to save him, hoping it wouldn't be too late.

…..

Nosedive wanted to yell in pain as the heavy concert came to a rest on his lower half. It was a heavy piece, if he had some leverage then maybe he could move it himself, however he was stuck under it with only his arm strength to move it. It wouldn't be enough. Images on the surface of the water caught his attention, he could make out the blurry shapes and colors of his teammates and brother coming back into the room to investigate while calling his name.

Reaching his hand out he tried in vain to catch their attention but no matter what he did, they couldn't see him in the dark water. Nosedive helplessly watched his teammates and brother leave the area, seemingly chasing after something. Leaning back, he sat at the bottom looking up at the glassy and distorted world above. This was it. He was going to die down here. _"No! I can't die like this! My brother needs me!"_ Trying with all his might, he pushed at the concert to get it off himself but it was no use. He tried to pull out his gun but it was stuck under him. If only he could get it free! Then he could use the grapple hook to tie around the bolder and lift it off himself. His lungs burned as he worked to get his gun out, it was almost loose! He could barely think passed the burning in his chest, it was agonizing! His body desperately wanted to take a breath and he could feel the seconds counting down until he could no longer fight it. He yanked his gun free but the motion was too much excursion on his part and without his consent he opened his mouth to breath in a lung full of water. He didn't think drowning would hurt this much or feel this terrible. Panic flooded his system as his nerves spasmed out of his control, cutting off motor functions and the ability to save himself. A few painful and desperate seconds passed before everything become very calm. The world grew dark and he was vaguely aware of a blur swimming towards him as his world went black.

…..

Hearing the gun shot the others came to investigate only to see Orion standing on the ledge above. They didn't notice that bubbles in the water or see how it had been disturbed. They were all too busy firing on the mad duck. Realizing that he was out gunned Orion ordered the robot to flee the scene, running back to where it left Mallory while the others gave chase. They didn't see Mallory making her way down to the water as quick as possible.

…..

The robotic Orion ran back into the room to find Mallory was gone. He looked at the chains that had held her, they were still swinging, meaning that she escaped fairly recently. "Leave her. I've got what I need. I can finish my work at the apartment. You need to disappear before she finds you. Change into a homeless man and keep an eye on her." Orion ordered and the robot did as instructed, changing its form into a scraggly man in a beat up brown leather coat and long dirty bread. Making its way down to the lower levels and out of the building, it waited to watch Mallory leave.

…..

Mallory dove into the water and swam right to the bottom where Dive was. He was already drowning! Dammit it took too long to get down here. Placing her feet on the ground next to him she put her arms under the concert and began pushing with all the strength in her body, using her legs as the main source of power to slowly lift the heavy mass off of him. Once pushed over, she grabbed Nosedive and swam with him to the surface. Dragging him to shore she put him on his back and stared CPR. Using her fingers to cover his nostrils at the top of his beak and angling his head back with his mouth open. Covering his mouth with hers she forced air into his lungs, trying to push the water out. Starting her chest compressions, she did it a couple of times and listened to see if she kick-started his heart. Nothing. Going back in she repeated the process over and over until the young duck spit water into the air over himself. She pushed him on his side to help him get the water out, relieved that he was going to be okay.

Nosedive for his part was confused. He couldn't think, just continued to cough up water and try to take breaths in between which proved difficult. He felt like he was going to suffocate on the water he was coughing up because he couldn't catch his breath. A soothing hand was on his back, rubbing circles as he slowly caught his breath and calmed down. He shivered, cold from the lack of circulation. Looking up at his savior he was stunned to see his ex-teammate sitting over him, soaking wet. "Ma-" He coughed and gasped, unable to speak full words yet. "Mal-"

"It's okay Dive. You're safe now." She rubbed his arms, trying to help his blood circulating as she hugged him to her. Seeing the young duck dying before her had been something she never wanted to see again. Nosedive clung to her, shaking from his near death experience. All thoughts of how upset he had been with her were completely gone, replaced by gratitude for saving his life.

"Co-come home." He shivered, as he buried his head in her neck.

She wanted to but another part knew it would be best if she didn't involve them. She had been here after Orion and the others followed her here. _"Because they involved themselves Nosedive was almost killed._ _I can't go back. No matter how much I want to."_ One way or another Orion wasn't walking away from this and if she didn't either, then so be it. Mallory sighed and hugged him. "I can't. Not until I've taken care of Orion. He's my problem. Look at what happened from you guys just following me. You almost died tonight Dive." She never called him Dive. He knew she was upset just from that.

"You could die." He managed to get out without coughing, though his voice was weak.

"Yes I might but I will handle this. I'll make up for my past mistakes." She said slowly letting him go. Pulling out her gun she shot out a group of windows. The sound of Wildwing yelling instructions to the others could be heard down the halls, ricocheting off the walls of the abandon factory. He had given orders to head back to where she was currently standing with Dive. Looking down at the big eyes of the youngest team member, she smiled at him. "They'll be here any minute to take you home. Don't worry about Orion. I'll finish this. I promise."

He shook his head no at her, wanting to tell her that he didn't want her to face this alone. That the others didn't either but he couldn't get the words out before she was already disappearing into the darkness. He attempted to get up but his legs gave out under him and he landed roughly on his knees. "Nosedive!" His brothers voice called frantically at seeing his brother on his knees and soaking wet. "What happened?" Nosedive attempted to explain but ended up coughing more. He pointed to the water and Wildwing and the others realized much to their horror that he had almost drown. "How did you get out?"

"Mal-Mallory was here. She saved me." He weakly managed. Wildwing felt like the worst brother and team captain in the world. He almost let his brother drown and Mallory had run off to face a dangerous man by herself just because she thought they blamed her. How could he have let things fall apart so quickly?

"Come on baby brother. Let's get you home." First he had to take care of his brother then he had to find Mallory. Every second she was out there and away from the safety of her team, she was in danger.

Not far from the ducks in a dark corner, Mallory sighed as she watched them load Nosedive into the Migrator. Wildwing kept his arm around his baby brother, keeping him close after almost losing him. She wished she could be there but she had a job to do and there was no telling if she would ever come back from it. Turning away from the sweet scene she went back to her knocked over cycle to drive back to Jim's.

…..

Back at the Pond the next day. Wildwing was lost in thought as he sat next to his brother's bed in the infirmary. The young duck was sleeping soundly as the machines kept track of his vitals. Dive was fine thanks to Mallory's rescue and he was recovering quickly, no damage was done to his body from the concert landing on top of him in the water but he had some nasty bruising and required monitoring and bed rest. Wildwing hadn't left his little brothers side for more than a couple of minutes. The only things that could pull him away was the need to relieve himself or to eat. He needed to shower soon though; he was starting to stink. Tanya had been too nice to say anything about it since he was so worried about Nosedive but he could tell she wanted to say something.

Sighing to himself he put his arms over his head, getting a good whiff of himself. "Okay seriously I need a shower." Standing up he looked at his brother one last time before going to his room to wash up. His mind drifted again to Mallory. As he showered he thought about possible places she would go and couldn't think of one that made sense. Wildwing dried off and dressed in a new suit then placed his armor back on over it.

What had he done. Mallory was all alone out there trying to find and fight Orion. He saw the way Orion had thrown her around when he had been angered, she didn't stand a chance on her own. Orion had thrown him around like he was a feather. He didn't want to think about what he could do to Mallory or what he would do when he caught her. A shiver went down his back, fear for her safety making itself known for what had to be the hundredth time. She shouldn't be out there fighting Orion by herself. She should be with the safety of her team, not out there where she had no one to watch her back. Where she constantly had to keep one eye over her shoulder for fear that Orion would be there, creeping in dark corners waiting to strike. _"Dammit Wildwing you really screwed up. How could you have blamed her for something that was out of her control. You fool. It'll take a miracle for her to forgive you and you wouldn't deserve it."_ He sighed to himself. He stared down at his white combat boots, trying to think of where she would go. She wasn't in any hotels around Anaheim or in Sunnyville. They had checked every single one. So where? Was she sleeping outside against a tree somewhere? The thought that she had nowhere to go set his nerves on edge.

Then a thought occurred to him. _"What if she went to Jim? Yes! She could have gone to Jim! Why didn't I think of that before!"_ He was hopeful that she would be there so that she at least had some place to rest her head. He didn't like that she went to him but it felt better then knowing she was out on the streets. _"Would she go to him for comfort? What kind of comfort would she seek from him?"_ He knew Jim would only be too willing to give Mallory that comfort. Wildwing could feel the feathers along his chest and shoulders raise up in hostility, pressing against the fabric of his suit, feeling like little pin pricks in his skin. He didn't have the right to be jealous like this but dammit if he wasn't pissed off at the thought of her going to Jim. Turning on his feet he rushed to Drake One. It would be easy to find any and all information about Jim Holst with the super computer.

No one was using Drake One so Wildiwng hit the button that unfolded the seat from the floor. Sitting down he got right to work. Finding Jim's files and address had been easy. Of course he lived in Sunnyville but when he looked at Jim's military records, something wasn't adding up. He was currently active in the field. That didn't make sense, this says that he was overseas right now? Finding footage, he found that Jim was in fact overseas and on active duty. How was this…? Wait! Mallory was with a man she thought was Jim Holst but the real Jim Holst was overseas! It was Orion! He had been impersonating Jim this whole time! "It's the only thing that makes sense!" That means Mallory was with Orion!

…..


	13. Chapter 13

Unrequited Love

With Nosedive still in recovery and Tanya watching over him, that left Grin and Duke but he needed them to be back up in case something went wrong. His gut told him that something would tonight. He wasn't going to be able to get Mallory away from Orion and capture the fugitive on his own so he called Klegghorn. The short police officer was probably just getting home but he made it clear he wanted to be a part of the capture of Orion since he murdered a human. Once Wildwing explained the situation with Orion hiding out as Jim Holst and Mallory not knowing it was him, the police captain was on board. He called in the swat and other officers to help with the capture of the fugitive. Now he was on route to Jim Holst's place to get Mallory back and out of the way so Klegghorn could make the arrest. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

…..

Mallory had tensed up hearing the sound of it coming down the road and watched as the Migrator parked outside. How had they found her? Why did they bother? Weren't they still angry at her? She delicately placed the remote she had been holding down the on coffee table and stood up to get a better look out the window. The side door opened and Wildwing walked out in his casual clothes, for once the mask wasn't on his face but she could tell his had it on him in his side pouch on his right hip.

He stepped off and looked up at Mallory standing in the second story window. He paused and let his eyes run over her, taking the sight of her in and checking to see if she was hurt. Then he walked down the dark path towards the front door. Mallory was so focused on Wildwing that she didn't realize Jim was next to her, dressed in flannel pants and a tight tee shirt. "What does he want?" He asked startling her but Mallory composed herself quickly.

"I'm not sure but I'd like to hear what he has to say." She turned to look at Jim, who seemed annoyed. He just nodded, deciding it would be best to let the other duck talk to her so he didn't seem too suspicious. Orion had just finished the new mind control device and had every intention of putting in her tonight. _"This duck better not get in the way of that."_

The doorbell rang downstairs and Mallory went down to answer it with Jim following behind.

…..

Wildwing waited nervously for them to open the door, he hoped she didn't slam it in his face, that would make everything more difficult. Also it would confirm his fear that she hated him. The door was unlocked and Orion disguised as Jim was the one to open it. The look of displeasure was clear in his eyes blue eyes.

Keeping a friendly face on Wildwing introduced himself, even though the only thing he wanted to do was bash this guy's face in. White hot rage settled over him and he bit down on his cheek to keep from attacking. "You must be Jim Holst."

"Yeah and your Wildwing." Jim blocked the doorway with his body but a hand on his shoulder caused him to turn his head and look over at the peach feathered hand that lay there. Mallory stepped up next to Jim and looked at her former team captain and lover.

"Wildwing what are you doing here?" She searched his eyes for the truth but he kept it hidden.

"I need to speak with you to apologize. The others were a little nervous about coming up here so they're in the Migrator. They've kind of left me to do it." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. In his head he was begging Mallory to go along with this.

Mallory was confused by his statement and behavior but didn't say anything. She knew the others wouldn't be nervous about such things and wondered why Wildwing lied but didn't call him out on it. He was acting like he was trying to be careful with what he did and said. It wasn't something that Jim would notice but she would. Deep down she would always trust him so she went along with it to see where he was leading her. They invited him in and a couple minutes later they were spread out in Jim's living room

Orion watched Wildwing as the white feathered drake tried to apologize to Mallory. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the couch with his hips, wishing Mallory would kick his ass to the curb already.

"Mallory I'm sorry. We all are. We screwed up but please we're your friends. Please consider coming back." Wildwing was careful to keep his face as innocent as possible. He didn't even want to look at Orion funny for fear that he would realize what was going on. The impostor posing as Jim Holst glared at the team captain as he attempted to persuade Mallory to come back. "Mallory we're friends right?" The words tasted like shit coming off his tongue and he cringed in his mind even saying it but he had too. They were still so much more then friends.

Hearing this bothered Mallory, even after he realized it was wrong to blame her he still wasn't going to be able to see her as anything other than friends now. She turned away from him, not wanting him to see the hurt that surely was reflected in her eyes. She glanced at Jim to see him glaring at Wildwing, it was unusually unfriendly for him. Looking back to her team captain she looked into his eyes, they gave nothing of what he was really feeling away. "Wildwing… I don't think it's a good idea that I come back."

"I won't force you. Just know that we are here for you." He rubbed the back of his head. It was time for plan B. "Uh look the others are here too. They wanted to apologize for the way they've been acting. Would you be willing to come out and listen to them for a sec?" He looked at Mallory apologetically. _"Please just walk outside with me Mallory."_

Orion wanted to kick this guy out, he and these other stupid ducks were taking up his personal time with Mallory. Whatever he just wanted them to apologize then leave. Mallory looked to Orion. "I'll be right back. This shouldn't take too long." She said to him standing to follow Wildwing out.

"Are you sure Mallory?" He asked, not wanting her to leave his sight but he couldn't stop her or risk looking suspicious.

"Yeah. It'll be just a moment." She walked down the stairs after the large drake. At the bottom Wildwing held the door for her and she nodded to him in thanks. Following her out, he was sure to keep her in front of him. He could feel Orion watching them walk to the Migrator. Once they were there it would begin. There were so many things he wanted to say to her but this wasn't the time, so he contented himself to watch her quietly walk in front of himself.

…..

Orion glared out the window. It was dark out so it made them a little difficult to see, even with his large windows but both of their feathers were light enough that they stood out against the dark woods, giving an indication as to where she was. He sighed and was about to sit down on the couch when suddenly lights flooded the room. "I've been had." He growled.

…..

Mallory walked out to the Migrator with Wildwing following behind her. Neither said a word, the only sound in the area was crunching of pebbles under their shoes. Mallory tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence and traced the vehicle with her eyes. It finally caught her attention that the others weren't in sight. _"Okay first that bullshit story and now this? What's going on?"_ She thought as she got that 'something wasn't right' feeling. Glancing back, she broke the silence, making Wildwing tense. "Why aren't the others-" She caught movement out of the side of her eyes and turned quickly to it. Wildwing suddenly grabbed her up in his arms and began pulling her to the Migrator. "Wildiwng? What's going on?" She looked at him confused and a little worried as he basically carried her away from the building. She started struggling and pushing at his shoulders. "What are you doing?" He didn't answer, only wrapped an arm around her waist and then dragged her the rest of the way to the vehicle.

She was about to start yelling when lights all over the yard turned on. The red and blue flashing of police cars were all over the place. It was so dark out here that she hadn't seen them. Klegghorn and a swat team were there covering all the exits to the apartment. She stopped her struggles and stared at what was happening around her, not realizing that Wildwing kept his arm around her. "That's not Jim Holst. Jim Holst is currently on active duty overseas right now." Wildwing said as activated his armor while keeping her close.

"What? Then who.." She stared into the building, her brain finally putting the pieces together.

"It's Orion. This whole time he's has been disguising himself as Jim Holst." She felt like a fool. How could she had been so blind! Her knees wobbled and they almost gave out on her. Feeling her suddenly drop, Wildwing tightened his arms around her and pressed her into his chest. "It's okay. I've got you. You're safe." They both looked into the large windows at Jim Holst standing in the living room glaring right at the white feathered duck, realizing he had been had. Wildwing glared right back at him.

…..

Orion knew he had been tricked the moment the lights shined into the living room. "Smarter then I first thought. I have to give that guy credit; I didn't see this coming." He looked at how Wildwing held Mallory to him, one would think he was holding a lover. Jealously burned in Orion's stomach.

"Orion Bluebill! Come out with your hands up!" Klegghorn yelled over the speakerphone.

Orion ignored the short human in favor of glaring at Wildwing. "Hiding behind a bunch of humans huh? Well I'm impressed you figured it out this fast but I'm not going to jail." Orion said while looking at Wildwing, knowing the team leader understood what he was saying with the mask on. It would do the job of lip reading for him. Wildwing's eyes narrowed at him. Orion turned and put his hands up as if to surrender with his back to the cops. "Robots, attack and bring me Mallory McMallard unharmed. Kill Wildwing Flashblade." He decided that he wanted this guy gone.

Thinking he was surrendering Klegghorn told his team to move in but before they could reach the door robots came out of the woods and started attacking the cops. Mallory and Wildwing pulled out their guns and began shooting at the aggressive machines.

Seeing they were all distracted, Orion made his escape out the back and jumped on his bike. He looked back one last time at Mallory and Wildwing, only to see the leader trying to get to him but his progress was hindered by the robots. Orion scuffed and left the scene, it was time to head back to his other headquarters in the modern house.

The robots continued attacking after Orion left. Most were dispatched but a few stragglers were left still fighting. Mallory was surrounded by cops, helping keep the advancing robots away from her. After a quick calculation, the machines all turned on Wildwing who was outside of the safety of the police. He had been trying to stop Orion's escape and in doing so left himself open. They leaped at him canons aimed. Wildwing was quick and pulled up his ice shield, crouching down to brace himself against the incoming fire. It happened faster they anyone could move. The amount of fire power turned on Wildwing sent rock and dirt in the air, completely obliterating everything around him. His form disappeared in the dusty cloud kicked up by the laser canons, Mallory couldn't tell if his was dead or alive but anyone facing that kind of fire power should have been completely destroyed.

"WILDWING!" She and the cops shot down the robots, killing them off as quickly as possible until none remained. "Wildwing tell me you're okay!" There was no response. Mallory's heart clenched in her chest. "He can't be dead." Everyone waited tensely for a sign that the team captain was alright. As the dust slowly settled, Wildwing walked out looking none the worse for wear, just a little dirty. His shield was still up but it was flickering, slowly it died out, having taken too much damage from the robot attack.

He watched the shield die, his holder smoking due to it being over heated and damaged. _"Any longer and I might have not made it."_

The police captain gave out instructions to search the apartment. A team of men moved in, trying to find any evidence of where Orion would go next.

Mallory walked over to Wildwing checking him over as she approached, she wasn't sure what to say. "Any damage?"

"That's my line." He smirked. Mallory was relieved he was smiling and being friendly again, she was about to say something else but didn't get the chance since Klegghorn walked over and started talking.

"Good thing you ducks are resilient." The short human clicked on the safety on his gun and put it in his holder. "We're gonna search this place with a fine tooth comb, if he's left something behind that will give us an indication of his wereabou-" Klegghorn didn't get the chance to finish, the apartment Orion had been staying in suddenly blew up behind them, sending everyone outside off their feet. Glass and metal rained down on anyone too close to the blast. One man that had been standing at the door of the apartment had been sent flying through the air, he went face first into the windshield of a police car, his back on fire. The men inside didn't stand a chance so close to the blast, they were dead in an instant. Flames licked at the blown out windows, black smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

"Oh no." Mallory whispered to herself and she watched the flames grow bigger, consuming anything in its path. Klegghorn stumbled to his feet and ran to the man on fire with his face through the windshield of Klegghorn's policecar. Wildwing quickly followed to help. Once on her feet Mallory observed the chaos all around her. "Orion what have you done?" A couple of cops had glass stuck in them, some were a little red from being too close to the flames when the explosion happened. Her eyes drifted slowly over everyone but stopped when they landed on the man on the car, his face was unrecognizable due to the black burnt skin and glass stuck in it. Klegghorn held his hand, talking to him while Wildwing was radioing ambulances and the fire department. Mallory had seen many battles and many wounds, she knew when someone didn't have long and this poor man wasn't going to make it. Her eyes welled with angry tears but she pushed them back and clenched her fists, tears weren't going to help this situation. She only hoped that she didn't ruin the fragile trust and truce that had been made between her captain and the police captain. Klegghorn's voice slowly grew louder and she watched the badly injured man's hand slowly go limp, leaving Klegghorn's hand being the only one that was left gripping.

Mallory was angry, not just at Orion but at herself. Whenever someone else got involved with trying to stop Orion, they always got hurt. Always. Enough was enough. No one else was getting involved in this. Something caught her eye, distracting her thoughts. She turned quickly to see the tail light of Orion's bike leaving the area. "No you don't!" She ran to her bike which was untouched by the explosion and jumped on, taking chase after Orion. "I'm ending this. I won't get captured this time." She zoomed out of there, ignoring Wildwing yelling at her to come back.

Seeing her going after Orion, Wildwing ran to the Migrator and went after her. "How stubborn can one women be!" He yelled angrily, as he pursued both ducks. "I swear sometimes I want to kiss her and sometimes I want to kill her."

…..

Orion didn't notice her right away but after a couple of minutes he realized that Mallory had jumped on her bike and was gaining on him. He didn't have much time to think about it since Mallory pulled out her gun and started firing at him. One of her bullets bounced of the metal handlebar, just missing his hand. Wanting to avoid being shot, he changed his plans and turned right, heading towards the large cathedral that he had rigid to blow as a trap but in this case he could use it to get away. Mallory wouldn't shoot up a cathedral filled with explosives. He **was** going to use it on her team by leading them to it and crushing them all if they became too much of a nuisance but it seemed like he would have to ditch that idea. Once she saw the explosive, she would have them cleared from the building.

The chase went on until Orion took a bullet through his left shoulder. Almost losing control of the bike but able to keep himself from crashing. _"She actually wants to kill me_. _"_ He thought to himself, feeling hurt and betrayed, never mind the horrible things he had done to her. Dropping a smoke grenade, he hoped to knock her over so that he could get away. It worked. Completely disoriented for just a moment was all it took for her to lose control of the bike but she was still able to maintain enough balance so that the bike went into a slid on its side. She let it go a slid right off while the bike went a little further then came to a stop. Once the disorientation passed, she stood shakily on her feet and grabbed her gun. Not far from her was a large stone building that human's called a cathedral and Orion's bike was parked out front.

He did it on purpose. She knew he wanted her to follow him and he knew she would. She wasn't letting him get away. Keeping her gun out she jogged to it and entered with caution. _"There's no way I'm letting him capture me again and the chances of him being able to do that right now are slim. I shot him. I know I did."_ Scanning the area and the ground she finally found evidence of his injury. There was a trail of blood leading through the old building and up to the alter at the back. It was a strange looking alter in a giant round circle of stone with wood over top of them to hold up the main platform. Glancing at it Mallory realized it was an old well that had been covered up.

"You are persistent." Orion yelled from somewhere, making Mallory jump and aim her gun upwards. "You really hurt me Mallory. In more ways than one." He tried to think of a plan of escape but a large number of the remaining robots were destroyed in the attack on the cops and the ones that weren't there would take too long to get to him.

"I'm ending this tonight! This whole time! It's been you! You've been Jim Holst!"

"Yes." His voice echoed through the building, she wasn't able to get a reading on where he was.

"And the General? Was he a robot?"

"No. I just convinced him that I was Jim." Orion pulled his t-shirt off and ripped a strip off it, using it to wrapped his shoulder tightly as a temporary bandage.

"Was that really the real Jim Holst's home that you blew up?" She continued searching around herself for him, keeping her gun up.

"Yes."

"Your such an asshole."

"Everything I have done; I have done for you!" He angrily defended himself, believing he was justified in his actions. "I did it because I love you and what I'm still doing now is because I love you. You'll see and it would be unwise of you to continue to deny me."

Mallory scuffed at his last comment. Was that a threat? Did he really think death scared her at this point? "You've lost touch with reality Orion…. You used to be the prefect man…. What happened to you?" Mallory called from down below, the question sounded strained and frustrated.

It gave Orion pause in his actions but only for a moment. "Bard **happened** to me. Puckworld Special Forces **happened** to me. I would tell you to investigate them but you really can't here on this planet can you? Then you would see that this really is all his fault. I- No, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, he forced my hand." He sounded remorseful for the first time in a long time.

"Orion maybe there is a part of you in there, so if there is please listen. I want to you surrender yourself to me so I can take you in. If not, I'm going to have to kill you."

"I surrendered myself to you a long time ago Mallory. It's time you did the same for me. I know Bard is to blame for you thinking I'm a traitor and a monster but don't worry, everything will be clear soon."

"Stop saying that! You're the one that changed! Not me! I never lost my clarity! You lost your mind and I've moved on."

Orion angrily clenched his fists hearing her say that. "You don't mean that."

"I do." She confirmed. He felt like his heart had been stepped on. "If you think you've somehow kept my life on pause, you haven't. If you think I never took other lovers, your wrong! I moved on the moment you betrayed me! I stopped loving you the moment you betrayed me!"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, unwittingly giving away his position in his emotional state, just what she wanted. Mallory fired on his position, making Orion have to dodge and dive out of the way, but even with his injured shoulder he was able to avoid further bullet wounds and he made a beeline for the back door.

…..

Wildwing arrived just in time, hearing the rapid gun fire going off in the church. He ran inside to see Mallory trying to hit Orion but he already made it out the door and dove out a second story window. She didn't notice the charges placed along the columns and how her bullets kept getting dangerously close to them. "Mallory Stop!" Wildwing yelled, but he was too late. One bullet hit the explosive, setting it off instantly and one by one they started going off all around, the building was going to come down right on top of them.

Thinking fast he scanned the room and saw the sealed over well, he shot a puck grenade at the wood covering it and blew a hole into it. Dashing forward, he grabbed Mallory who was staring up in stunned horror at what she had unwittingly done and jumped down into the well with her. Falling into the water below had broken their fall and the old stones would protect them from the collapsing building around them but they were trapped. At least until someone came and dug them out. They listened tensely to the sounds of the heavy rock and metal break and whine around them, waiting for the well to collapse under the weight of the building and come smashing down on them. The defining noise finally stopped the only sounds around them was their combined breathing, the cool water sloshing at their hips, and pieces of rock and would that would occasionally fall into the water with them. It was pitch black; Mallory couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. The only thing she could see was his eyes staring at her from behind the mask.

If Wildwing hadn't raced in after her then she would have been as good as dead but she was angry at him too. He could have gotten himself killed! Then where would the team be? It didn't matter if she died but it certainly did if he died.

"What were you thinking?" Mallory glared at his red eyes in the darkness. They rounded in confusion. "You could have gotten killed trying to rescue me! You're the leader Wildwing! You can't throw your life on the line like that!"

"I'll throw my life on the line for whoever I please and instead of lecturing me you should be thanking me."

"I would have been fine and even if I hadn't then that would have been the end of all of this with Orion. I'm expendable, you're not! If I died the team will get along just fine. If you die everything would fall apart!" Her voice grew louder.

Wildwing was about to yell at her some more but a noise above caught his attention and he saw some rocks come loose and fall towards them. Grabbing Mallory, he pushed her up against the wall of the well and placed his body over hers. Just avoiding the rocks from above. "I'm so sick of your attitude. You've been nothing but difficult for the past three weeks. Obviously your trying to push everyone away because you're afraid that Orion will hurt them but we're a team Mallory. We don't leave our own to be eaten by the wolves." He hovered over her smaller form, trapping her between him and the wall for protection. Even when he was angry at her his main concern was her safety.

"What happened in my past in my private business. I don't want any of you apart of it." Mallory shivered at the feel of the cool water slapping at her hips, unconsciously she moved her hips a little closer to his, feeling the heat coming off his body.

"Well too bad cause we got dragged in anyway." He growled at her, keeping both hands on either side of her head and bringing his face a little closer to hers with the upped intensity of their argument.

"Stop being so stubborn and leave me to deal with this! I can handle it! This is all my fault, so I'll take care of it!" She shoved her head forward at him, getting in his face but keeping her back pressed to the wall.

"Handle it? Like you handled it up there?" Wildwing glared down at the beautiful red head that drove him crazy. He continued to shield her with his body from falling debris. He hunched over her a little more when he felt some broken off pieces of wood hit and bounce off his shoulder then drop into the water beside him, causing him to press into her.

"Listen yo-" She was cut off by Wildwing hungrily devouring her soft beak in an angry kiss. He realized that he shouldn't be stealing kisses from her but he couldn't help himself. He needed her to shut up for five seconds anyway and this was a pleasurable way of doing that. The kiss was angry at first but then changed to wanting. When he pulled away Mallory finally didn't have any words. Speech had been robbed from her by his beak. Wildwing watched her face as she stared into his red eyes, she was flushed with passion and they both were panting. He wanted more. He wanted all of this woman. He wanted to feel her skin on his as they made love and to listen to her sigh his name as their bodies moved together as one. He wanted more than just something physical. He wanted her body, mind, and soul. Something she was so unwilling to giving but he would have it. He would have it all and Orion was an obstacle in his path to that. Because of that duck Mallory was afraid of becoming intimate and since this was the case, he would remove him from his path. This duck's obsession with Mallory was going to stop.

Opening his com he contacted the others and let them know that both he and Mallory were okay but they were stuck in a well. The team was on their way in the Areowing, they would be there soon. Closing his com, he sighed. "The only thing we can do now is wait until the others dig us out."

Hearing him talk, snapped her out of the daze she had just been in from his kiss. She couldn't help but be aware of the feel of his body pressed against hers and how warm it was or the smell of his cologne that was on his clothes. She shook her head, forcing the lusty fog from her mind and fell back on her tough girl front. "Great." She muttered sarcastically. "Stuck in the bottom of a wet well in complete darkness with you. Totally my idea of a great night out." It was a lie but she was grasping for straws here.

Wildwing was offended by the comment but chose to ignore it and went right to correcting what she did wrong. "This wouldn't have happened if not for your actions and if I hadn't gotten here in time, you wouldn't be alive to have this conversation." He scolded.

"I don't need or want you help. I certainly don't want _**your**_ protection. I had it handled." She turned her head away from him.

"Did you? Cause from where I was standing you were just staring at the bombs watching them go off and waiting for the building to crush you." She glared at him but reminded quiet after that, mainly because he was right and she didn't have anything to back herself up. After that an oppressing silence fell over them.

An hour later, they were still down in the well, waiting for the others to dig them out of the collapsed building. It was completely pitch black and Mallory couldn't see a thing, the only thing she could see was the faint glow of Wildwing's red eyes looking down at her. Thanks to the mask, he could see just fine. He had looked for a way out or possibly trying to climb out but the mask revealed that if they tried to move the rubble above them around, it might come down on them. They would have to wait for the others to get to them.

As they waited they were both only too aware of being so close to each other. Wildwing still hovered over Mallory protectively. She glanced up to see his eyes looking above them but his head moved back down and she quickly glance away. She was lying before about everything she said earlier, she didn't have the situation under control. She did need help and she did want his protection. Wildwing was strong. Here and now, even with this building collapsing around them, she felt safe because he was with her. He always made her feel safe but with Orion… she wasn't so sure.

"Think their getting close?" She suddenly asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

Wildwing opened his com to track their signals. "Looks like it. Shouldn't be much longer."

"…. Thanks… for saving me." Mallory suddenly said quietly. His eyes snapped down to her, finding her staring off into the dark, not daring to look up directly at him. She finally glanced up at his glowing eyes, looking almost vulnerable. "I mean it." She said, all hostility gone.

"Your-" He was cut off as the rocks above were suddenly moved away and light pierced the darkness. Both covered their eyes to let them adjust to the light a little more slowly.

"Are you both alright?" Grin asked from above.

"We are now." Wildwing said. "Throw down some rope."

A single rope was tossed down to them, Wildwing held it out for Mallory to go first. "After you." She nodded and climbed up, then he followed. Both happy to be out of the smelly well.

…..

After being thrown from the building by the explosion Orion almost went into a panic. "Mallory!" He yelled out for her desperately, hoping she wasn't dead. His plan had backfired on him and now he may have killed her unintentionally. Attempting to stand, made Orion realized he'd hurt his leg in the fall. Pulling out his burner phone he called the robots and gave them instructions to pick him up in disguises. In the meantime, he would hide and wait for them to arrive. If no one came for Mallory, then he would have the robots dig her out. There was no way he was leaving without knowing she was okay.

After what felt like forever but was really only twenty minutes the other ducks arrive and started digging their teammates out. After an hour of waiting on pins and needles he was relieved to hear that Mallory was unharmed. Wildwing had pulled her down into the old well and saved them both from a crushing death. "Perhaps he's not that terrible of a leader. Still not great." Orion muttered to himself.

The robots arrived in a stolen minivan not long after the other ducks arrived, looking like a family coming home from a late night drive. One robot opened the sliding side door, allowing Orion to get in quickly. They started tending to his injuries as they waited for news of Mallory's safety. Once they learned she was okay, they drove him to the last safe house. Tonight had been a complete failure thanks to Wildwing… who should have been dead. "Oh well. Perhaps he will come in to use later." Orion said to himself as he thought about the mind control still in Wildwing's spine.

Trying to get more comfortable he grunted at the pain in his shoulder. He was at a disadvantage now with this injury, there was no way he could capture Mallory himself. It was time for Dragaunus to hold up his end of the bargain.

…..

AN: Thanks to everyone for all the reviews! They really help keep me going. Apologies for taking so long to update. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.


	14. Chapter 14

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

I was determined to get this up as a Halloween post. Happy Halloween everyone!

Unrequited Love

The ride back to the Pond was quiet until Nosedive turned on some tunes to drown out the silence. No one argued as the young duck put his feet up on the dashboard and twitched his foot to the beat of the music. Tanya took the opportunity to take a seat next to Mallory, who watched her out of the corner of her eye wondering what Tanya wanted. _"Isn't she still angry at me?"_

"Mallory. I-I need to apologize to you. I've b-been rid-ridic- uh silly with how I've been acting." She was shocked that Tanya was apologizing. "When it comes to home, I've always been prone to being over emotional. I s-should've learned my lesson from fighting Phineas Viper in the future not to be so emotional with thi-this kind of stuff. When I'm like that I tend to make the wrong decision and not, ya know, think about the consequences. I'm sorry Mallory." She looked away for a moment and then took a deep breath. Turning back to the red head, she asked the question that had been keeping her up at night. "Uh, c-can we be friends again?"

Mallory was surprised with herself when she realized that she wasn't angry, just relieved. This whole time that she had been away not once had she thought to be angry at them. It was all directed at Orion. She had been obsessed with finding him. It had occupied her every thought while she was out there. "I would like that." She sounded tired as she spoke.

"You're not angry at me?" Tanya asked, confusion coloring her voice. She at least expected some sort of backlash from the fiery red head.

"A little annoyed in the beginning but surprisingly no. Perhaps I'm too tired to be angry or maybe all my anger has been reserved for Orion."

"Yeah well that's where I should have been directing it. He's the guilty party, n-not you."

"I guess. In a way, you were right though. It is and isn't my fault. I can't control Orion's actions but I could have been there to make sure the job was done right. I know that, I think that's also why I can't be too mad at you guys." Mallory omitted.

"No Mallory." Nosedive surprised her by jumping in the conversation. "All sides are wrong on this." He took the other seat next to her, glancing up front at his brother and Duke driving. "I didn't get a chance to thank you for saving me from drowning." He spoke softly as he checked her over. Turning her attention to him now, he was being very mature for him.

"I would've done it for any of you."

He nodded, knowing it was true. "Also I'm glad your safe. You know… I kind of missed ya."

"You mean you missed playing pranks on me." Mallory corrected making Tanya snicker.

"That too but I've also gotten used to you being around. It would make me a little sad if you weren't here anymore." He teased, managing to get a real smile from her. Putting all teasing aside, Dive surprised Mallory again by taking her hand in his, she looked at him in slight alarm, wondering what was wrong. "In all seriousness. I'm sorry. We all are." Not sure what to say and unable to talk past the slight lump in her throat she only nodded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze back and letting it go. She was a little uncomfortable with the affection being directed at her and kept her hands resting in her lap while the ducks fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride back.

…..

Ten…. Ten humans lost their lives tonight because of Orion. Klegghorn made it clear that when and if they catch Orion, they were too hand him over to police custody. Wildwing of course agreed, wanting to keep things smooth between the humans and the ducks.

Guilt racked Mallory's brain over everything that had happened. She glanced over at her leader for the first time since they got into the Migrator. It was hard to not want to look at him, Mallory discovered her eyes would constantly wander over to him if she didn't stop herself. She blamed the kiss he gave her. Everything had gone sideways so fast. She couldn't tell where she stood anymore. Looking over at Wildwing she saw he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. She wanted to say something but what could she honestly say? How should she broch where she stood with him?

Meanwhile, Wildwing was contemplating how to broach the subject of Orion and what he did to Mallory while she seemingly was staring off into nothingness. He knew she wouldn't be happy that Grin told him what happened and a small part of him dreaded talking about it, it only made it more real. Duke drove the Migrator into the hidden entrance and parked in the giant garage. Everyone unbuckled and stood up, wanting to get some rest for the night.

Mallory felt awkward as everyone started piling out of the Migrator, too much attention was focused on her. "Are you okay?" Wildwing asked her as they walked into the garage with the others following behind them. Mallory shook her head in the negative. Nothing was okay. Everything only seemed to be getting worse and she had failed to stop it again.

"I'm so sick of him winning." She spoke softly, not even turning to look at him. Nobody but Wildwing could hear her.

"Yeah… me too." He whispered back. "Guys can you give us a second." He asked, looking back at the group. Everyone nodded, leaving the two alone to talk. Nosedive and Grin went to bed but Duke and Tanya waited outside the garage, closing the door behind them to give the two privacy.

Wildwing watched everyone leave, his back was facing Mallory as he stared at the closed door. She hesitantly brought her hand up to his shoulder, about to touch it when he suddenly turned around and wrapped her in his arms. Feeling his large hands and strong arms close around her, holding her in a tender hug. Mallory didn't know what to do at first. She hadn't been expecting this to be his reaction but her hands went to his chest and she pressed her head into the side of his strong neck. "I can't tell you how happy I am that your safe." He breathed to her. Mallory looked up at him wanting to ask a question but his mouth descended on hers before she could get a word out. He broke the kiss to speak, his voice hushed. "Don't leave me again."

"So… when you came for me tonight and where saying…" She trailed off, afraid to finish the sentence.

"It was only cause I didn't want to give myself away or make him leery of why I was there. Besides…" Wildwing brought his hand up to her cheek, brushing his fingers over it. "If he had known I was there to take you away from him there was no way he would have let me walk out the door with you." He removed his mask and looked down at her tenderly.

"You still want to be with me. Even after everything that you've learned?"

"Yes. I don't care about that. In the beginning I admit I didn't know what to do and who to blame. I blamed you and it was wrong. We were all wrong and we're all sorry." Mallory could have collapsed in relief. "Mallory I'm so sorry for the way I was acting. I never should have let it go so far. Can you ever forgive me?"

Mallory studied his face. He worried that she would say no. "Of course I do." She wrapped her arms around his neck, collapsing into his embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes.

"There is something else…" Wildwing looked down at her face, not sure how to broach the subject of what Orion did to her. He opened his mouth to speak but had a hard time getting the words out. Mallory waited patiently wondering what was on his mind when the door was opened behind them.

"uh sorry to interrupt but w-we should really, ah you know check you out on the Medicom." Tanya offered a little nervously.

"Thanks but I'm fine. I just need to rest." Mallory went to walk away until a hand was on her shoulder, stopping her from going any further.

"No Mallory. You need to be checked." Wildwing wasn't taking no for an answer. His priority was always the safety and health of his team.

"Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. I just don't want to think about any of this right now. Tonight, I want you to make me forget." His red eyes widened in understanding and he nodded.

Tanya looked back and forth between them, feeling a little awkward at the strong and intimate intensity that rose between them. She coughed into her hand. "A-alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She grabbed Duke's hand on the way out, dragging him back to her room so to give Mallory and Wildwing their privacy. They were going to need it, besides she wanted time with her own man.

…..

Wildwing walked holding hands with Mallory back to his bunk. Both a little lost in their own worlds. Arriving at his room, he let her in first and closed the door, locking it behind them. It was then that he realized they still stank from their dip in the well. "Uh, if you want to take the first shower, everything you need is in there." He motioned at the bathroom with his head.

"If you wouldn't mind?" She smiled at him slightly, her mind having been on the same thing. Mallory jumped in the shower giving Wildwing some time to himself to think. It was good to have her back. No, not just good, a relief. When she left, he realized what an ass hat he'd been. He now knew how much he wanted- no needed her to stay and then hearing what Orion did to her from Grin…. It had sent him off. He was terrified and angry for her. Worried that Orion would get his hands on her again. Mallory may have only been gone for a few days but in that time, he ached to be near her.

After having a taste of sex with Mallory, he found himself a little addicted and wanting more. There were many nights during the time Wildwing was avoiding her that he laid awake at night, craving Mallory. That one night together left him tossing and turning in his bed for many nights on end. The temptation to walk down to her room was one that he often had to resist but it was always kept at bay with the memory of his best friend's death. Now he saw what a dumb mistake that had been, not to mention Mallory had suffered all on her own and he had not been there to support her, that bothered him the most.

His thoughts were interrupted when his bathroom door opened and Mallory walked out all fresh and clean. Wildwing had given her some of his clothes to wear to bed which she put on before leaving the bathroom. They changed places and Wildwing jumped into his shower, wanting to get the musty smell of the well water off his feathers.

While he was showering, Mallory undressed waiting for him to come back out. She needed this tonight. She needed him to make her forget for a while. When he walked back out, he stopped in his tracks to see her standing there naked in front of him. She was perfect, the embodiment of woman with her soft curves, toned muscles, and long legs. He wanted this woman, he would always want her. Suppressing the growl fighting its way to come out at the sight of her, he stalked forward. Unable to take his eyes off the beauty in front of him, he grabbed her arms and pulled her in for a kiss. No words were spoken as Wildwing undressed and picked Mallory up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. His kissed her as he walked them the rest of the way to the bed, giving Mallory exactly what she wanted.

…..

Orion growled at the bullet hole in his shoulder. He was having a hard time closing it. Lucky for him it didn't hit anything vital, it was just irritating, leaving him at a slight disadvantage when it came to fighting. This was something he couldn't afford. Right now, he needed more advanced technology to fix his arm and there were only two places that had it; the Pond and the Raptor. So, he sat in the back of the van, with his robots on the way to Dragaunus' ship.

Arriving, he got out to see it was disguised as a pet grooming salon. Rolling his eyes at the stupid cloak they chose, he walked up to the ship and entered as if he came here all the time. The drones patrolling acted as if he wasn't even there. So Dragaunus was quite surprised when Orion walked in like he owned the place. "What the devil are you doing here?"

"I need your Medipod." He walked right passed him, ignoring the irate lizard.

"You can't just barge in here! This is my ship!" Dragaunus shook his fist at Orion.

"I just did." He went to the Medipod and activated it. It went to work on his shoulder but healing it completely would take a couple sittings in the pod, something he didn't want to make time for which was frustrating. While laying there Orion stared at the ceiling, thoughts of Mallory danced through his head as usual. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, remembering the times they had spent together on Puckworld. He missed it, he missed her. If only he had some way to grab her. Then he remembered something. "Hn, how could I forget?" He pulled out the device from one of his many pants pockets. "Good thing he didn't die." He's eyes scanned over the device making sure everything was intact. It was luckily unharmed. As soon as this thing was done healing him, he would hit the button and activate the mind control.

…..

The room was lit up by candles that had been randomly placed, its light giving off a romantic vibe. Tanya gasped under Duke, arching her back into him as she reached her climax. Duke followed, groaning he rolled off the top of the busty blond, both panting and sweaty. Resting his hands behind his head, Duke had a big smile on his face that made Tanya giggle.

"Y-yah know, your cute after sex. You always have that big smile on your face." Tanya laid on his chest, careful not to hit him in the face with her hair.

"Well that's cause I'm happy Sweetheart." One arm came down to wrap around her shoulders as he nuzzled his beak into her hair.

"Me too." She played with the dark feathers on his chest, wondering if she should say what she was thinking. "Duke?"

"Yeah?"

She ducked her head, rethinking what she wanted to say and tried to come up with something else to talk about but Duke gently lifted her chin to look up at him. "Tell me what you want to say."

"I-I-I uh…"

"It's okay Tanya."

She took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "I love you Duke."

He smiled, bringing his head down to give her a big kiss. "I love you too Sweetheart. Been in love with ya for a while now." She smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen her wear, some tears gathered in the corners of her eyes but he kissed salty drops away before they could fall. "No need for that beautiful. You've got my heart and I've got yours, for me that's somethin' that makes life worth living."

Never in her life had Tanya felt so beautiful or so blissfully happy.

…..

Wildwing was the first one to wake up. Mallory laid across his chest sound asleep while he shook off his grogginess. Fully awake now he looked down at her sleeping on him. Her silky red hair was splayed across his white feathers and her long dark eyelashes swept gently over her cheeks, lightly toughing the peach feathers there. She looked beautiful.

He wanted to spend the whole morning just staring at her but he was the captain, therefore there was work to be done before everyone else got up. Reluctantly, Mallory was placed on the pillow and Wildwing slipped out of bed, getting dressed and ready for the day. While he was in the bathroom Mallory stirred, slowly waking up, no longer being embraced by the warmth that have previously been provided for her when she was sleeping against her lover. Attempting to sit up, she went to stretch but ended up laying back down at the feeling of the soreness betwixt her legs. She groaned, placing her hand over herself to try and calm the ache.

"Was I too hard on you last night?" Wildwing asked, walking out of the bathroom and taking a seat next to her on his bed.

"Maybe a little but it was what I wanted." Her voice was a little raspy from just waking.

Wildwing smiled and placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her temple. "Sorry babe, I missed you." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Try to get some more sleep, you probably need it." Mallory smiled and nodded rolling back over to rest more as he left the room.

...

Tanya sat up suddenly at the sound of her alarm going off. Without glasses, trying to read the glowing red numbers on her clock was almost impossible. She attempted to stand but an arm quickly wrapped around her waist, stopping her from going any further. She smiled tiredly back at her lover. Duke pulled her back under the covers and curled his body around hers, spooning her. "Just sleep with me a little longer Sweetheart." He nuzzled the back of her neck, drifting back to sleep.

"You know I have to do my daily checkups. So, keep those sneaky fingers to yourself." She teased.

Duke opened his one eye and smirked boyishly at her, making her melt. "You love my sneaky fingers. Especially what I can do with them."

Tanya snickered at his innuendo, she did love his fingers, they sent her through the roof sometimes. Duke was not a morning person but still he managed to be horny even now. Still she had to run her routine maintenance checks on Drake One and all vehicles. Tanya was very strict about keeping to her schedule but the temptation to lay back down beside her lover couldn't be resisted. _"What can it hurt?"_ She thought as she settled back into the bed, before she knew it she was asleep in his arms.

…..

Walking down to the kitchen to grab some tea, Wildwing thought about possible plans of attack with Orion. He was frustrated, he had no idea how to capture this duck. He begrudgingly had to admit the guy was good. The team captain was expecting the kitchen to be empty only to see Grin sitting at the table with a cup of tea in hand. "Grin? What are you doing up this early?"

The large duck looked up at him, showing the bags under his eyes. Wildwing grew concerned. "Grin? You don't look so good? Are you feeling okay?"

"I did not sleep."

"Why?"

"I miss her… I miss my wife. Images of her face haunt me when I close my eyes." The big guy's shoulders were slumped forward.

Wildwing looked at Grin sadly, the big guy didn't talk a lot about his wife, so it must have been bothering him if he was openly talking about it. "I'm sorry Grin. We will get back. I promise you we will get back. It might not be soon but it will happen."

Grin seemed relieved at his leader's confidence. He smiled up at the white feathered drake who had never once broken a promise that he made. "I believe you."

Wildwing nodded when he noticed Grin sat up a little straighter. "Get some sleep big guy. I'm cancelling practice this morning anyway."

Pleased to hear this, he nodded and took his tea back to his room. Perhaps some more meditation was in order.

Wing was glad he could help cheer Grin up. _"Now I just need to make sure I keep my promise. This is one of the reasons why I didn't want to be leader in the first place, it's so much responsibility. In the end, it'll be my decisions that dictates whether we go home and if I make the wrong one, then we might be stuck here. I'll be a complete failure as a leader. What's worse is that one of them could die."_ Wildwing shook his head, not wanting to think about that, such negative thoughts never helped anyone. Sighing, he started making tea until he felt pain like he had never known shoot up his spine to the back of his head. He yelled out and stumbled back, falling onto his knees since he was unable to keep his balance. The mug of hot tea fell from his hand and shattered on the floor, spraying tea and glass shards across the tiles.

While one his knees grabbing the back of his neck, the mask on his face lit up shining brighter than it usually does, fighting the mind control from completely taking over its wearer and then the pain stopped. His world was hazy but his body stood up without difficulty and without his consent. _"What's going on?"_ He thought as he just stood there, seemingly waiting for nothing until his com rang.

Opening it he didn't see a face, just heard **his** voice. Orion laughed mockingly through the link. "Looks like you've come into use after all Wildwing. What you're going to do now, is bring Mallory to me. I don't care how you do it, just get her to me unharmed. I'll send you the time and location for drop off." He hung up and Wildwing walked out to do just as he was told. He was aware of what was going on around himself as he watched the halls and doors pass him until he stopped in front of the one he needed. _"No. Stop! Damn! Mallory run!"_ He thought as his body entered the code to his room.

Mallory was up, she had just finished getting ready when the door opened. Wildwing stood there in full battle armor with the mask in place. "Hey. What's up? I thought you had a lot of work to do today?" He didn't answer just walked forward, aggressively. His stance and movement was all wrong, it was one of someone preparing to pounce. "Are you okay?" She took a step back, unsure of what was going on but her instincts were telling her that something was wrong. When he was close enough he attempted to tackle her. Mallory spun away from him, barely avoiding his hands. "What's going on? Wildwing what happened?" He wouldn't answer, just got up to come at her again.

The way he moved was as if he was not in control of himself and then her mind grasped that he wasn't. _"Orion must have put a mind control device in him when he held him hostage!"_ Running to find help seemed like the best option. She was almost to the door when his large gloved hand locked around her wrist, completely engulfing her hand. Not even giving it a thought, she launched her knee into his stomach hard. Making him double over for a moment, giving her the chance to escape. Mallory bolted down the hall to the rec room, hoping the others where there to help her but no one was in sight. The sound of Wildwing's feet approaching could be heard and she ran for the kitchen. "Guys! Where are you? I need help! Something's wrong with Wildwing!" No one was in the kitchen. She ran for the opposite door but Wildwing appeared in it suddenly, knowing she was going to run for the garage. She couldn't stop herself in time and he used her speed against her to close line her and throw her back onto the floor.

Mallory choked and grabbed at her neck, from having his solid arm slam into it. She was gasping for air in between the coughing fit she was having. Yanking her off the floor, Wildwing bent her over the kitchen table and slammed the side of her head down on it, making a very loud bang and causing Mallory to yelp. The world went sideways, shifting to and fro as her hands were pulled behind her and tied together.

Mallory attempted to shake off the dizziness and kicked her leg backwards into his stomach. Again, she nailed him and he bent over in pain only this time he bent over Mallory's bent form. knowing he would do this she threw her head back and cracked him in between the eyes with the back of her skull. He stumbled back but she ended up hurting herself more on the metal mask. She stood up and stumbled out of the kitchen even more disoriented then before her attempted head butting.

A hard shove threw her to the floor on her side. "Wildwing, you have to fight him."

He didn't answer just stepped over her and crouched down, leaning in close to her face. She waited to see what he would do as he touched the back of her head with his fingers. She hissed in pain as he lifted her head up, his fingers digging into the already tender part of her skull. There was no time to define herself when he slammed his forehead into hers with the mask. Mallory saw stars as her cranium smacked back into the metal floor, leaving her feeling like her skull was going to split open from being hit on the front and the back. Barely conscious and with blurry vision she attempted to crawl back but Wildwing's hand wrapped around her neck, pinning her down. Her hands clawed at his but it was no use, with the large gloves protecting them, she couldn't inflict any pain on them to remove his fingers from her throat. He had only been holding her down but when she went to push him off by digging her thumb into his right eye, his hand suddenly started squeezing down. She didn't want to hurt him but she was getting desperate as her air was slowly cut off. She pushed harder on his eye but he remained unaffected, the mask was formidable with protecting any part of its wearer's face from harm.

A large figure was suddenly looming over Wildwing. The white drake didn't turn in time to stop Grin from pinching a nerve in his neck, knocking him out instantly and causing him to almost fall on top of Mallory but Grin grabbed him before he landed on her. "Are you alright Mallory?" Grin looked at his teammates worried, she nodded and attempted to stand up but was too dizzy. "Here let me help you." With one arm, he scooped Mallory up bridal style and with the other he picked up his leader, placing him over his big shoulder, carrying them both down to the infirmary.

…..

Turns out she was only able to get twenty more minutes of sleep. Tanya was too stuck on her schedule, much to Duke's dismay. Clip board in hand, she was just getting ready to walk into the infirmary when Grin brought Wildwing and Mallory down the hall. "W-what happened?" Mallory was nursing her head with her eyes clenched shut, cradled in Grin's right arm while Wing hung limply over his left shoulder.

"Wildwing was attacking Mallory. I believe it has something to do with Orion." He laid them both down on the Medicom beds.

"Why do you say that?" She questioned, starting the scan on Wildwing but Grin didn't answer. Tanya shrugged it off as just a guess. It didn't take long to find the mind control device in his spine. Working quickly, she removed it as gently as possible while Wildwing was still knocked out. She gave him some pain killers for his back and went to scan Mallory who had been watching Tanya work now that her vision had cleared. The red head sat up, insisting that she was fine and didn't need to be scanned. Tanya was trying to argue with the stubborn militaristic mallard when she was interrupted by Wildwing groaning.

"What happened?" He went to rub his neck and felt a slight sting when he lifted his arm above his head.

"Orion put a m-mind control device in your spine. He must have put it there when you were, uh you know, held hostage." Tanya explained in her nasally voice. "But it's out now so you should be fine. Just a little sore."

"Oh my head and back." He sat up slowly, finding that it hurt to do so. Everything was coming back to him and suddenly he sat up fast, pushing the pain to the back of his mind. "Mallory!"

"I'm fine." She said watching his head snap over in her direction, just realizing she was there.

He sighed in relief but was still upset. "I'm sorry Mallory."

"It wasn't your fault."

He watched her sitting on the other Medicom bed. "You need to be scanned."

"I'm really fine, just a little dizzy." Crossing her arms over her chest, she refused to sit back.

"No. You said you would get scanned last night. Now you're doing it." Realizing that he wasn't going to take no as an answer, she relented and laid back.

Grin took this time to get up and excuse himself. "If you need me, I'll be meditating in my circle."

"Uh wait! Grin! How did you know Orion was c-controlling Wildwing?" Grin looked back at Mallory who refused to meet his eyes. Wildwing glanced back and forth between them, clenching his fists while Tanya remained oblivious to the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"It was a guess." Tanya wanted to ask more but Grin left before she could.

"Oh uh, okay." She went back to waiting for the scan to finish. Duke wandered in with two coffees in hand, one of which he offered to Tanya. "Oh my savior!" She kissed his beak making him beam and then took a large gulp of the black Americano.

"What did I miss? By the way what happened in the kitchen? There was a broken cup and tea on the floor. Not to mention there is a new indent in the kitchen table that wasn't there before. If I didn't know betta I'd say a fight happened." Wildwing winched hearing this while Tanya and Mallory sent Duke a glare. He saw the look on their faces and backed up a step. "Did I say somethin' wrong?" No one answered.

Once Mallory was scanned, Tanya read the data from the Medicom and almost gasped. Mallory laid waiting on the Medicom, watching the spinning wheel circle around her, wondering what was taking so long while Wildwing watched the red head. He traced over her checking for himself if there was any damage but he was distracted when his eyes began to linger over her hips and other assets. Finally noticing him watching her, Mallory could feel a blush blooming under the feathers on her cheeks and neck. "What's the news Tanya?" Wildwing asked, finally pulling his eyes away from Mallory, allowing her blush to subside.

Tanya jumped hearing Wildwing ask her a question but seemed to get ahold of herself and played it off. "Oh sorry one second." She placed her coffee down and started typing new commands into the machine.

Duke looked at her inquisitively and walked up next to her to see what she was looking at that was making her nervous. His one eye widened as he stepped closer. "Is that right?" He whispered to his lover.

"It's never wrong." She whispered back, while getting more information from the Medicom. "Mallory if you could just lay back down so I can do one more scan?" Mallory just nodded and laid back waiting for the Medicom to finish up. Once done Tanya swallowed hard.

Looking at the two ducks sitting before her waiting for her answer, she tried to figure out how to do this. "Uh Mallory I need to talk to you alone for a second. Do you guys mind giving us a sec-second?" Wildwing was itching to find out what was going on but nodded and walked out with Duke. He looked over at one eyed duck who didn't give any indication as to what this was about. Sighing to himself, he knew he was going to have to wait for an answer.

Once the guys were out in the hall and the door was closed, Tanya grabbed Mallory's hands in hers. "Uh n-now Mallory, this might come as a shock." She stuttered as she tried to explain without freaking Mallory out. "Well it seems that you're p-pregnant." Hearing this Mallory pulled her hands from Tanya's and placed them over her stomach.

"I'm what?" She started breathing heavily, a touch of panic flooding her chest. Did Orion take advantage of her when she was with him? "Can you tell who th-"

"Wildwing." Tanya interrupted, confusion coloring her voice as she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. _"Why was she gonna ask who the father was? Did she sleep with someone else?"_ There was no way Mallory would have slept with Nosedive and Grin had a wife back home. That left Duke but he said he wasn't interested in Mallory. Was he lying? Did something happen between them? A thousand questions ran through Tanya's distraught mind. The more she thought about Duke sleeping with Mallory the more her heart broke. She couldn't just assume though, she had to know for sure.

Mallory was lost in her own world when Tanya interrupted her thoughts. "Why would you think Wildwing wasn't the father?"

Mallory glanced at Tanya and then looked at the ground as if ashamed. _"Oh no."_ Tanya felt tears start to sting the back of her eyes, the feeling of betrayal filling her heart.

"It was when you all went to the movies and let me sleep." Mallory started explaining. Stopping Tanya's tears and confusing her even more.

"But Duke was with us at the movies." It slipped out before she could stop herself. Her cheeks went red and she tensed when Mallory gave her a strange look.

She stared at Tanya for a moment trying to process what she was thinking when she realized the conclusion her friend had come to. "Tanya, Duke has only ever been interested in you. We never slept together if that's what you think." Tanya blush and looked down, a little ashamed that she had assumed such a thing. "It was Orion." The blond team tech's head snapped up in alarm. "The strange thing is I couldn't remember any of it, only before and after when I awoke hours later in my bed completely naked. He used mind control on me to bend me to his will and made me have sex with him while you were all gone. He raped me Tanya. Here in the Pond… In my bed."

This time tears really did fill Tanya's eyes. She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around the red head. "Oh no. I didn't realize... I didn't know. Oh god Mallory I'm so sorry." Mallory hugged her friend, fighting back against the emotions that wanted to come up to the surface, the emotions had she spent so much time trying to fight back. Tanya pulled herself together and wiped her eyes while Mallory did the same. "Why didn't you tell me? Does… Does Wildwing know?"

Hearing his name, Mallory tensed. How was she supposed to tell him that she was pregnant with his child? She realized at that moment that she wasn't going to tell him, at least not yet. _"What do I do? Should I keep this child? Is it safe for me to do so? What if Orion finds out? He'll kill Wildwing, maybe even me and my child."_ She turned her frightened emerald eyes to Tanya. "Tanya… I'm not sure I can keep this baby."

Tanya acted as if she had just been slapped. "Wh-what about Wildwing? He needs to know."

"No!" Mallory grabbed Tanya's shoulders. "He can't know and you can't tell him. I need time to really think this over."

"I-I-I'm n-not comfortable with this. I-I-I don't kno-"

"Tanya! I'm not asking. You own me this!" She stared into the blonde's eyes, wanting her to understand the seriousness of the situation. "There are many issues to factor in here. Orion being one of them."

Tanya understood what she was saying but she wasn't going to be able to keep this from Wildwing forever. Eventually he would find out. Slowly she nodded.

…..

The guys waited patiently in the hall, making small talk over what was going to happen now when the door to the infirmary opened again and Tanya walked out. Standing at attention, Wildwing went right back into leader mode. "Tanya? What's wrong with Mallory?" He wanted to know everything that was going on with her.

"Oh uh, nothing she's healthy as a, uh, ya know horse."

"But then why did you make us leave?" Wildwing questioned, crossing his arms.

"I just needed a second with Mallory to talk. That's all. There were some things on my chest I needed to get off. I'm sorry. I couldn't wait anymore." Tanya hated lying to him but she promised Mallory that she would give her time to think it over. Duke shifted uncomfortably, obviously not liking that she wasn't telling their leader the truth but he kept his beak shut.

Nodding, a bit frustrated, Wildwing's suspicions nagged at the back of his mind. This wasn't something he was going to let go of but for now he would hold off. The doors opened again and Mallory walked out of the infirmary. He was about to ask her what was going on when his com went off. He opened it and looked at the message on it, it was from Orion. All thoughts about what he was going to ask went out the window as his eyes widened while looking at the message on his com.

"Guys I just got a text from Orion. Looks like he gave me a time and location to bring Mallory for drop off." He looked at Mallory who looked eager. "He's gonna be at this location at nine tonight." Everyone waited for his orders but he didn't give any. Instead he looked Mallory in the eyes. "We could use this opportunity to catch him once and for all but it will be dangerous." He explained. She nodded, telling him without words that she wanted to do it. He searched her face, seeing no doubt there. "Alright. Let's go get this son of a bitch."

Tanya and Duke shared a worried glance.

…..

The Migrator skidded to a halt outside the closed high school. The whole building was dark, giving it an eerie feeling. Wildwing tied Mallory's hands behind her back but left the rope loose enough that she could slip free with ease. Picking her up he placed her over his shoulder, making it seem like he had captured her. Mallory pretended to be unconscious as he walked towards the building, her body limply swaying with his moments as he walked. Using the mask, he scanned the school and found Orion was on the first floor in a gym waiting with two robots, exactly where he said he would be. That was a good sign, that meant he believed everything was going as he planned. Once the team was informed they prepared to attacked, sneaking out of the vehicle they went around the sides. The plan was to surround Orion so he couldn't escape.

Walking in the front doors, he went right to where Orion was waiting. The handsome light-yellow feathered duck stood up seeing Wildwing walk in with Mallory over his shoulder. "I guess you're not so useless after all." He smirked at Wildwing, who gave no sign he was irritated, even though he was boiling over on the inside. Every time he saw this duck now he only saw Mallory's rapist. "Give her to me." Orion held his arms out, waiting for Wildwing to deposit Mallory's limp form. Wing started walking forward when Mallory 'awoke', kicking and fighting his hold. He acted like he had to take a step back to keep his balance. "Stay there." Orion ordered as he walked around the back of Wildwing to face Mallory who was yelling at them to let her go.

She glared up at him but he looked at her with soft eyes. He opened his mouth to speak when the doors on the sides of the rooms were busted open. The other ducks came in with guns drawn and engaged the robots in a fight. More robots came down from the second floor, coming to defend Orion, nothing the ducks hadn't planned for though. Wildwing took the opportunity to spin around and kick Orion hard in the chest, knocking him away from Mallory and himself.

Mallory slipped her hands free from her ropes and jumped off Wildwing's shoulder. She moved in front of him, grabbing her guns from the holsters on both sides of his waist while he shot anything over her shoulders that came at them. Seeing two robots running at Wildwing's back, she aimed her guns at them from around his torso and shot them down. Both turned away at the same time and went back to back, perfectly in sync with each other in a fight, they shot down any robots that came near them.

Duke was on the far side, being surround and overwhelmed. "Wildwing Duke's surrounded I'm going to help him. Watch your six!"

"Got it!" He yelled, pulling up his ice shield and charging one robot with it, smacking the machine away, he shot it while it was airborne. Another two robots came at him from both sides but he dodged, making one shoot the other while he knocked its feet out from under it and blasted it in the head with his wrist gun. Rolling back to his feet, quickly checking the robot coming at him with all his body weight, knocking over two more behind it. Not giving them a chance to get up he tossed a puck grenade over his shoulder at the three sprawled on the floor and walked away as it went off, sending pieces of the three robots scattering across the room. A small piece of smoking metal landed on his shoulder, he looked at it and brushed it off, then went to help his brother and Tanya who were trying to keep ten robots from overrunning Grin.

Meanwhile, seeing her teammate in danger, Mallory jumped in. Two robots were holding Duke's arms while the third one aimed a canon at his head. She shot its arm knocking off its aim, making it shoot the robot holding his right arm. Seeing his chance, he tossed the robot holding his left arm over his shoulder at the one in front of him, knocking them back. Grabbing his sword from the ground he cut them in half before they could right themselves. Mallory was next to him in an instant. "You alright?"

"Ya no sweat." He smirked when he looked at her but his eyes widened when he saw six more robots surround them. They went back to back Mallory was aiming her gun while Duke had his sword in hand. "When I say so, duck." Duke ordered.

"Alright."

He hit the button on his sword handled that released the blade from the handle, connecting to the two parts by a long wire. "DUCK!" With a quick wrist, he swung the blade in a circle around himself and Mallory who was crouched below his arms. Faster than the robots could predict the blade was suddenly back in its handle. Mallory watched for a second confused until all at once their heads fell off, the metal bodies crumpling to the ground after. Mallory was impressed. She went to stand but Duke pushed her shoulder back down. "Duck!" The sword detached again from the handle and shot forward through a robot's head. With a good yank, it came right off. The blade went back in its handle and the head landed in Duke's awaiting hand.

This Time Mallory stood up without any issues. "Goose." She joked, referring to the kids' game, Duck Duck Goose.

Duke snickered and tossed the head back over his shoulder. "I always hated that game." He looked over at Orion who was waiting on the side with his arms crossed, ready for a fight. Duke and Mallory looked at each other a little surprise he didn't make a run for it, an understand passing between them. They both advanced on the smirking Orion. It was just what he had been waiting for.

Orion saw an opportunity two minutes back to separate the ducks waiting for Mallory to approach him for a fight. He knew she would bring whatever teammate she had with her. Not a problem for him, even with his injured shoulder he was confident that he could take two. Aiming at the roof he fired a puck grenade at it and caved part of the ceiling in. Mallory and Duke were separated from the rest of the team. They looked back at the cave-in, worried for their companions but Orion interrupted them. "Well, you going to come at me or what?"

"With pleasure creep!" Duke moved in first, his sword out. He slashed at Orion but the duck dodged and moved like liquid, avoiding any cuts. Mallory circled around preparing for an attack from behind so Duke could see her move in. Orion expected this. Mallory charged in at the right moment and engaged Orion in hand to hand combat. Fists and feet were flying everywhere. Every time he went to land a blow on Mallory, Duke moved in and took a swipe at Orion, causing him to have to move back. They were working well together, but he still had a plan in place. He surprised to two by diving passed them and making a run for it. Not sure why he did it they both gave chase.

Running up the stairwell, Orion took two steps at a time to gain ground on them. Hiding around a corner he paused for the telltale signs that they were coming. Hearing it their footsteps seconds later he waited for them to go by and saw Duke was behind Mallory. He attacked and hit Duke in the back of the head, knocking him out for what would only be a couple of minutes.

Hearing Duke grunt and go down Mallory turned to see Orion fleeing down the long hall. Checking Duke, she found he was fine and took chase. Aiming her gun, she fired off two warning shots close to Orion's head. Hitting the doors far in front of him. "Don't move Orion." He slowed to a halt and held his hands up. "It's over. This has to end." Mallory had him right in her sights, there was nothing he could do to get away.

Orion turned his head to look over his shoulder at her, soaking in her image. His beautiful Mallory. "Did you ever think it would end this way when we first started dating. In my mind, we were going to find a beautiful home along the coast. Raise kids there and grow old together. That's all I ever wanted… how did everything get so fucked up?"

"That was your fault."

"My fault?... Oh yes. I suppose in a way it was wasn't it." He still had his back to her. His one shoulder still wrapped and healing from the gunshot wound. "You know back then before the accident; I would have handled things differently…" He turned away from her nodding to himself, agreeing that he had changed. "But I don't think that way anymore. I'm aware enough to realize the drastic change, it's just that… I can't help but agree with it. It seems logical."

"What do you mean the accident?"

"They wouldn't tell you and if I told you they threatened to throw both of us in prison. That was Bard's doing."

"The head of the PFS?" Mallory was confused, this was something she'd never heard about before. "What did he do Orion?"

"It doesn't matter now does it. What's done is done." Finally turning around to face her, he smiled sadly at her with a wistful longing in his handsome eyes. "I knew loves perfect ache the moment I laid my eyes on you and it ached so bad."

Mallory started to shake as she kept the gun aimed at his head. "I'm ordering you to stop." She was frozen as Orion stared her down with his smoldering eyes.

He approached her slowly, with every step he's declarations became more passionate. "I remember the first moment I saw you. Out for a night away from the base. You were dancing with some friends and when you danced there was something in you, it had this power over me. I could barely tear my eyes away. In that moment, I knew. I knew that you were the one, that this feeling would always rule me and I couldn't live without you."

"Please stop." Her voice shook along with her body. Hearing him say these things was resurfacing old feeling, she could feel her heart breaking again.

Orion was right in front of her, he walked so close that her gun was pressed into his forehead. "I was in love with you even then, just like I still am now. I'll never stop loving you Mallory." He brought his hand up slowly, placing it over the gun. She shook even harder as he moved it and aimed it at his heart instead. "If you're going to shoot, then shoot here. My life was always yours."

He moved his hand away and stood waiting for Mallory to pull the trigger and end him. Tears finally spilled over, as her finger tightened on the trigger, just a little further and it'd all end. All the horror and violence would come to an abrupt stop, she just had to apply a little more pressure. Mallory was shaking so violently that if she fired she might miss his heart. She tired but she couldn't do it, her mind froze and to her horror she couldn't pull the trigger. Slowly lowering her gun, she backed away and fell back against the wall in the hall, sliding to the floor where she crumpled, a sob escaping her. Her gun hanging limply in her hands as more tears came. _"Why can't I do it?"_ She thought as she stared at her feet.

Orion smiled lovingly at her. "That right there is proof that you still love me too."

" _Oh god. He's right. I can't kill him because a part of me still cares for him! Even with all the horrible shit he's done to me. What's wrong with me!"_ She wanted to tear at her hair and have a fit but was incapable of even lifting her arms.

The sound of the others coming their way could be heard down the halls. Orion turned to look in the direction they were coming from then back at Mallory. "You'll see soon Mallory. Just come to me and this all ends. Please, I miss you. I'm so tired of not being with you. I need you Mallory. You are life to me." She didn't answer so he kept going. "Come to me and I'll give you anything you want. I'll kill Dragaunus. Even leave his ship intact so that your friends can return home." She finally looked up at him, seeing he had her attention he nodded. "Yes, I'll do it for you Mallory. Give me you answer, call this number. Then come to me."

He slipped away, with the paper on the floor next to her, disappearing into the shadows in the hall, using them for escape. Not a moment too soon, Duke came charging down the hallway. "Mallory! You alright." He saw her tears and was instantly worried. "What happened? Mallory what did he do?" She shook her head, indicating that he didn't do anything. "What then? Mallory talk to me!" He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little to snap her out of it. It seemed to work and she stood up with his help. Shakily putting her gun away, Duke watched as her hands shook almost uncontrollably. Mallory didn't get the shakes from fights or anything, something must have scared her. "What happened?"

She spoke so softly he wasn't sure he heard her right at first. "I couldn't do it." She looked in the direction Orion took to escape. "I couldn't kill him. I had him right here and he wouldn't have been able to do anything but I couldn't. Part of me still…" She trailed off, swallowing down the words that would have come out.

Duke understood though, his one good eye narrowed and he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck at the tension there. _"What a mess."_ He thought, glancing around to make sure none of the others had arrived yet, he took Mallory's shoulder and made her look at him. "Not everyone can do it Mal. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I wasn't that."

"I know. Don't tell anyone about this."

Her head snapped up and she straightened at full attention. "What?"

"I think it would be best if you didn't mention this. We'll just say he got away and that's it. Right?" He knew the others wouldn't be happy to hear that she let Orion go but what he was worried about was Wildwing's reaction. He would be furious and heartbroken to hear that part of Mallory's heart still belonged to Orion. "You're never going to tell anyone about this. Understand?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, since she was just staring at him. "Mallory do you understand?"

Finally, she nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Let's go." She followed Duke back to the others, letting him do the talking.

"At least you both are safe." Wildwing said, trying to hide his frustration that Orion got away. Walking up to Mallory, he placed a hand on the small of her back. "Let's go home."

" _Home… Home is in another universe and there's only one way to get there."_ In her hand, she clenched the piece of paper Orion left her, refusing to let it go.

…..

Again, the whole ride back had been quiet, even now walking into the Pond no one spoke.

Duke kept his eye on Mallory, for some reason she had refused to unclench her one hand. _"What does she have? Did Orion give her something?"_ He glanced at his leader to see Wildwing also watching Mallory from the side of his eyes. Duke wondered briefly if his leader noticed the note in her hand but was distracted when Tanya went to speak softly with Mallory. The blond tech shared a few quiet words with her but Mallory shook her head no to what she said and Tanya nodded then left the room. She looked at him and used her eyes to indicate she wanted him to follower her. Duke listened, giving Mallory and Wildwing an odd glance as he left.

Nosedive saw the strange interaction and went to his brother's side. "Bro, what's going on between Mal and you?"

Wildwing sighed. "I wish I knew."

"Is she still mad about the way she was treated?" Dive ran his hand through his long blond hair.

Wildwing was about to ask him why he thought that when he remembered Dive didn't seeing the interaction between them like Duke and Tanya did. He couldn't have possibly known that he and Mallory had slept together last night. He was about to answer when Mallory spoke up.

"It's been a long day. I'm going to bed guys." She excused herself, walking to her bedroom.

He watched her walk out for a moment and sighed. "I'll talk to you about it later Dive." Right now, he needed to figure out what was wrong with Mallory so he could fix it. He caught up with the red head just before she was about to enter her room. He saw the look on her face as she stared at the door. Automatically he assumed that she was thinking about the fact that Orion had taken her in that room, it lit an angry protective fire in his stomach and he wanted to destroy anything to do with that incident. Maybe she wouldn't be too mad if he blew her room up and had her stay with him. "Mallory." She turned to look at him, waiting to see what he wanted. "Look uh, what happen-"

"Wildwing." She cut him off, holding up a hand. "I just need some time to myself. I need to rest."

Those few words stopped him in his tracks. She was so distant compared to what she had been this morning, not that he could blame her. He straightened and kept his face neutral. "Right. Sure. I'll talk to you in the morning then. If you need anything just call me. I won't be far." Mallory nodded and went into her room without looking back as the door closed behind her.

Clenching his fists at his sides, he was resisting the urge to go in there and drag her to his room. He was angry, angry that he was forced to attack her, angry because of what Orion did to her, angry that he didn't protect her, and angry that he couldn't find a way to talk to her about it. Why couldn't he find the words? Why couldn't he fix this? He walked back to his room, wishing she would talk to him about what was bothering her.

…..

It was late at night as Grin silently made his way to the kitchen when he heard a loud crash. Turning to the sound, he heard another bang along with an angry yell. Wildwing's aura vibrated violently down the halls of the Pond. His leader was in distress. Walking to where the commotion was coming from, Grin found himself in front of Wildwing's bedroom door, another crash was heard from behind it. Entering the code, he let himself in where he saw his leader throw his weights across the room. Wildwing was sweating and panting, as he stumbled back and leaned against the wall then slid down to the floor seemingly exhausted. He knew Grin was there but at the moment he didn't care. He was so angry.

"Your aura is like a volcano. I can feel your anger down the halls."

"I want to hurt him for what he did to her." Wildwing looked at his gloved hands, watching them shake as they clenched into fists. "What do I do? How do I fix this?"

Grin ventured further into the room now that objects weren't being sent flying through the air and stood beside his leader's slumped form. "This is not something that can be fixed quickly. She will need more support than ever from us, even if she never talks about it."

"How am I supposed to support her if she doesn't talk about it?"

"By being there, by being still."

"Still?" Wildwing finally looked away from his hands to Grin.

"When she told me, I could feel that my stability helped her keep hers. She was close to falling over the edge and losing a part of herself. The part that sees herself as strong and independent. At that moment, she was the leaf being battered by the wind, pushed in many different directions and almost plucked from her branch. It is the tree's job to keep the leaf strong. It does not speak of how it will do that and the leaf don't tell it of its distress, instead the tree silently feeds the leaves to keep them healthy and in return the leaves can be strong and feed the tree. There is no verbal communication, it just knows and therefore can help. You must be her tree."

"But I want to talk to her about it. I want her to talk to me."

"What you want is unimportant right now, what she needs is." Grin took a knee and placed his hand on his leader's shoulder.

Wildwing scoffed a small sad laugh. "Yeah. Well I already messed that up when she felt she had to leave." He leaned his head back against the wall behind him. "Would she even let me be her tree?"

"She's here isn't she." Grin pointed out.

Wildwing tilted his head in thought. It was true. She could have just run off somewhere else but she chose to stay and even forgave everyone for being so terrible to her. She actually thought she deserved their blame. "Yeah she is." He looked up and smiled gratefully at the large duck. Grin nodded and held out his hand to help Wing up. The white feathered drake took it and nodded his thanks. Grin turned and began cleaning up broken weights and furniture in the room. "Don't worry about this Grin. I made this mess, I'll clean it up."

"We're a team. We will share our burdens and messes together, then help each other fix it." Wildwing smiled again at the big duck and silently got to work picking up his room with Grin.

…..


	15. Chapter 15

Unrequited Love

I don't own the mighty ducks.

AN: Looking back to the very beginning of this I realized that this story is longer than most bloody books! By the time I'm done this will be over 90,000 words. Mind as well have written a book! At least I could make money off that… Anyway… Onward.

Nosedive opened his door, glancing around himself to make sure no one was around. "Time for the Dive to take a walk on the wild side." He smirked and crept down the hall towards the elevator. Taking it up he walked out into the dark locker room and silently opened the doors leading out to the rink. Jumping up onto the railing along the way out of the locker rooms that the fans always stood by to see them enter and leave the rink during their games, he made his way to the front doors. Looking at his watch he didn't see the figure seeking up on him.

Suddenly Nosedive was yanked backwards. He stumbled back trying to use his one free arm for balance. Turning he pulled back his arm ready to launch his fist at his assailant when he saw it was only a smirking Duke. "Aw come on man! You scared me half to death." The younger drake pulled his arm free from his chuckling teammate.

"That was the idea. You need to be more aware of your surroundings. Where you goin' anyway? Wildwing wouldn't be happy to see you sneaking out of the Pond at this hour. You're lucky it was me that saw you and not him." Duke crossed his arms looking at the young drake. Dive seemed to get nervous at the mention of what he was up to. "Nosedive what's goin' on?"

"Weeelllll…. You can't tell Wing."

Duke rubbed his beak as if he was thinking it over. "Alright, I won't say a word."

"Okay well you see, I'm kind of sort of… seeing someone."

"Wait what?" Duke was surprised, out of all the ducks Nosedive had been the one who had disliked humans the most when they got here. It was only after the Pretorius incident that he thought they were okay.

"Yeah. Been dating for a while and was going to tell you guys but then bro got super pissed with Mal seeing a human so I kept it to myself." Nosedive shrugged his shoulders, not mentioning how many different girls he had dated so far.

Duke couldn't help but wonder what the hell Nosedive could possibly know about dating. He smirked when he thought about the cute kid like things Dive was possibly doing with his date. In his mind, he could see Dive taking a girl to a movie or the carnival and holding hands. _"Poor kid, he has no idea about the wonders of women yet."_ Shaking his head, he responded to Nosedive earlier comment about Wildwing. "Well that's true but he was only angry because he likes Mallory."

"Yeah I know but still, if he was enforcing those rules before then he'll enforce them now just to be fair."

"Maybe but have you ever thought about talking to your brother about it?"

"There were a couple times that I tired but ended up not doing it and everything has been so crazy for him with Mal that I don't want to stress him out more."

"That's true." Duke sighed. "Well, I won't stop ya from goin' on your little date. Just be safe eh kid? If you run into trouble let me know." Duke walked off, going back down into their base.

"Alright! Rock on Duke! You're the best man! Don't ever change!"

Duke just waved to him over his shoulder while Nosedive walked out the front doors, ready to meet his date. The young blond checked his jacket pocket making sure the condom was in there, seeing it was he zipped it back up with a smirk. "Never go unprepared." He smirked, thinking about the last time he went on a date with Elie, she was a hellcat in bed.

…..

" _Hey Mallory, guess what I got us?"_

 _Mallory's emerald eyes peered around the corner. "What's that?" She giggled, at the excited smile on his face, in his hand two slips of paper were being waved back and forth._

 _"Two front row tickets to see one of the best hockey teams in the world! The Muscovy Ringers!"_

" _What? I thought tickets for them were sold out for a year in advance! Not to mention how expensive one ticket is!" Mallory rushed down the hall to him, attempting to grab the tickets from his hand. Orion laughed at her excitement and kept the tickets out of her reach._

" _No, no. First you have to give me something in return."_

" _Oh yeah? What's that?"_

" _Hmmm…. How about a kiss." He leaned down towards her face. Mallory leaned up but when he closed his eyes for the kiss her hand shot forward snatching the tickets from his grasp._

" _Hey!" He said in surprise as Mallory laughed and ran down the hall. With a chuckle, he gave chase until he finally cornered her in the kitchen. "Ha ha! Now I've caught you. You can't escape!" He stopped his teasing when he saw that she wasn't paying attention, her back was facing him as she stared at the tickets in her hand. "Mallory? Is everything okay?"_

" _The dates…"_

 _He nodded watching her nervously. "Yeah I know I thought you might like it. As kind of tribute to him. That was the last time you went to a big game with your brother before the accident."_

" _You remembered that?" She looked back at him touched by his thoughtfulness._

 _Orion nodded. "Of course. I remember everything you tell me babe. Especially if it affects you personally." He walked up and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulled her back against his chest. "If you don't want we don't have to go. I can give them to friends."_

 _She shook her head. "No this is the sweetest thing that anyone has ever been done for me." Mallory turned around and pressed her beak against his in a sweet kiss. She wasn't one to get overly mushy but this was special to her, very special. He broke the kiss and nuzzled his forehead against hers._

" _I just want to make you happy. Whenever this day comes around your always so sad. I wanted to do something different for you to help make it easier." He placed his head on top of hers while she buried her face in his neck, breathing in the scent of his feathers there._

" _You do make me happy. Your perfect. I'm so lucky to have you." Looking up at his blue eyes she kissed him again._

" _Ditto and good." Orion smirked mischievously and suddenly grabbed Mallory, throwing her over his shoulder. "Because I intend to marry you woman!" Mallory laughed as he carried her down the hall to the bedroom. They had spoken of marriage often; both were eager to get married._

" _What are you doing?" She giggled as he threw her on the bed, the tickets were still clutched in her hand._

" _What else? Making love to the woman that owns my heart." He crawled on top of her and started tickling her mercilessly. Mallory threw her head back and laughed so hard tears started to form in her eyes._

" _Oh please stop!" She laughed trying to crawl out from under him but he pinned her down and his fingers poked at her sensitive sides, making another round of loud laughs spill out of her. "What happened to making love?" She looked for any opportunity to get him to stop tickling her._

" _Oh yeah! How could I forget?" He finally stopped and sat up, letting Mallory breathe again. Seeing her chance, she jumped on top of him and pin his arms down with her knees. Her fingers found his ticklish underarms and he started struggling. "No fair! I wasn't ready!" He managed to get out in between laughs._

" _All is fair in love and war." Mallory teased as she mercilessly went after him._

" _Oh god! SOMEONE HELP!" He cried out making Mallory laugh._

" _Be quiet or someone will think I'm killing you!" She scolding but refused to stop her tickling._

" _That's the idea!" He struggled, laughing hysterically._

Loud beeping ripped Mallory from her pleasant dream of the past. Her alarm was telling her it was time to get up. She groaned and placed a hand to her head, trying to calm the stress headache that was already there. She had been so happy with Orion. How could everything change so quickly? Just thinking about how happy she had been with him, only brought forth the reality of how he had changed.

Moving sluggishly out of her bed to draw herself a hot bath, the knowledge that she was pregnant a strange and inescapable thought. Wildwing had gotten her pregnant. She had to admit that in their passions they didn't think about condoms and that was dumb but knowing it was Wildwing's duckling she was carrying made her feel warm and fuzzy.

Taking off her clothes she sank into the steaming water, laying back against the tube. Her hands drifted down her stomach to settle over where she was currently carrying her duckling. It was flat and smooth, just as it had always been but that would soon change. The strong muscles along her stomach gave no sign that she was carrying however, she felt different. It was probably in her head but she felt like she was fuller. Mallory took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was glad it wasn't Orion's child but she still didn't know what Wildwing would say to all of this.

Her eyes went to the paper Orion had given her on her sink. _"I should throw that away but what if I could end this all in one night? The others shouldn't have to suffer because of my mistake. I could fix this. They'll be free to go home and see their families again. Live normal lives and be happy."_

"But the duckling?" She murmured to herself, already feeling protective of the life growing inside of her. _"What would Orion do?"_ Her hands stayed protectively over her stomach. "What do I do?" She thought about her options for a little longer before she finished cleaning herself and got out of the tube to start her day.

…..

Tanya was sitting in the infirmary looking at the mind control device Orin had used on Wildwing. Something was wrong with it. It was the same build as the one pulled from Mallory only part of this one was somehow damaged. "I highly doubt Orion would have put it in Wildwing if it was damaged, so it must have been damaged while it was in his spine but that doesn't make sense because he wasn't hurt when the building collapse around them. So, what could have damaged it?" She continued examining it.

"I think it was the mask." Wildwing said, making Tanya jump.

"Th-the mask?"

"Yeah it reacted to that thing being activated. I could feel it."

"Perhaps there is even more to the mask then we even know." Tanya seemed to be lost in thought. "Do you remember everything that happened while you were under his control?"

"Yeah? Why?"

She almost mentioned Mallory not remembering her experience under his control but then remembered that Wildwing most likely didn't know, at least that's what she thought. "Oh uh. Curious."

He raised his eyebrows at her in questions but she ignored it. "Tanya I'm here to ask about Mallory's scan."

Tanya dropped the tweezers she had been working with accidently in her nervousness. "Oh uh, well, you see…"

"I need to know what you told her the other day."

Tanya looked away, clearly torn. "I promised Mallory I wouldn't. I own her Wildwing for the way I treated her." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "B-but I can't stop you from c-checking its records." She turned away and picked up the tweezers again, getting back to studying the mind control. It was quite advanced and she could use some of its design ideas to update some of their tech.

Wildwing nodded gratefully and did just that. Opening the files, he found Mallory's scan and almost fell over with what he saw. On the screen, an image of Mallory's body from the front showed a completely healthy body. All bones were intact and nothing was broken, not even a vein or muscle was injured but down in where her womb was a tiny red speck of indicating new life. Before he did anything else he checked the second scan wanting to know the DNA. His name was listed as the father, he felt relief and happiness fill him. Then annoyance at not being told that he was going to be a dad. "Tanya…. Is this-?"

"It's never wrong." She interrupted him, looking at him from her work. "Are you upset?"

"No. I'm just… she didn't want to tell me. Why?" He asked himself but Tanya answered.

"She's scared."

"She had not right to hide this from me. It's my duckling."

"I know. She said…" Tanya paused not sure if she should tell him this. "S-she said she wasn't s-sure if she could keep the baby."

"What!? Why?"

"Something about a lot of things factored into it." Tanya shrugged her shoulders.

Wildwing took a breath to calm himself down and nodded. "Thanks Tanya." He left, going to find Mallory. He would check her room first then the gym.

…..

Walking down to the gym she taped her knuckles and padded them from hurting later. Walking up to the one of the six punching bags they had she started her work out. It wasn't even five minutes in when Wildwing came it. Mallory paused in her work out to turn and see what he wanted. She was surprised by the look in his eyes. What did it mean? Didn't matter, she was about to find out when he stopped in front of her.

"Why?" She raised her eyebrow at him, not sure what he was asking about.

"What's up?"

He stared at her a moment. "I was hoping to have this conversation with you in your room but you weren't there."

Her eyes widened. _"Oh shit! I never put the paper Orion gave me away! He's seen it!"_ She turned away from him and started punching the bag again. "It's my decision, no one else's."

"How can you say that?"

"What I'm going to do will be for the best, you'll see."

"I should have been a part of this from the very moment it was discovered!"

"Listen, I'm my own person! I don't belong to anyone! I can do what I want!" Turning to look at him, she could see the frustration on his face. _"Well he's not the only one whose frustrated!"_

"But you are mine." His eyes dark brown eyes drifted down to her stomach. "Your both mine."

It clicked and Mallory felt overwhelming panic at him know that she was carrying his child. She now realized he wasn't talking about the deal Orion made her. "She told you." She whispered menacingly, ready to be furious with Tanya. Every moment she thought about everything that was happening in her life the angrier she became.

"No. I went into the Medicom and pulled up its history to figure out what was wrong."

For some reason, every word out of his mouth was pissing her off even more. She felt like a volcano ready to blow. Then her anger exploded out of her on the person closest to her. "Damn you!" She kneed him in the stomach surprising him. Mallory went to punch him in the face but Wildwing dodged, refusing to fight her.

"Come on you ass. Fight back!" She was enraged. Everything was a mess; her life was a mess. She needed to take her anger out on someone who was partially responsible for this. "Damn you!" Mallory screamed. Trying everything she could to hit him but he kept dodging with a sad knowing look in his eyes. She didn't like it. She went to hit him again but he grabbed her fist capturing it in his much larger hand, her attempt to hit him with her other fist ended the same way. He held her arms out, refusing to let her hands go as she struggled to get free from his iron grip. He watched her struggle with a strangely calm look in his eyes that only infuriated her more. "Damnit let me go!" She yelled.

"Stop fighting me. I'm not going to fight back no matter how much you want me to." He spoke in an annoyingly soft voice.

"Bastard!" She went to knee him in the balls but he anticipated this and spun her around, pulling both arms behind her back, trapping them in one hand. With his other hand, he placed it over her womb, where his child was growing. Mallory froze at the intimacy of how he was holding her.

"Why are you so angry at me? This is my child. I have a right know. Why would you hide this from me? Were you afraid I wouldn't want you both? Did you think I would let you get rid of it? I want this duckling. I want to have this duckling with you and if that means I must tie you to the bed to keep you both then I will because I love you Mallory. I love you both."

She gasped as his admission. _"He loves me?"_ Wildwing trailed his hand up the front of her body to her face, turning her head gently to look back at him. He leaned in bringing his beak towards hers. "Wildwing don't." She whispered but he didn't listen, instead he took her mouth in a tender kiss. Mallory gave in without a thought, pressing back into him. Her hands were released from behind her back as his hands went to explore the front of her body. She gasped, breaking the kiss when he cupped her breasts through her shirt. Wildwing's mouth found her neck, kissing his way to her shoulder, leaving little nips and licks behind in his wake. Letting his hands travel downward they moved over her hips, grabbing them and pressing her butt into his crotch. Feeling his desire stole the breath from her again as his hand undid her belt while he teethed on her shoulder. "We can't." She whispered.

"We can." He grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, throwing it to the floor. Quickly taking his shirt off and dropping it on the ground next to them. His hands went to her bare breasts and grabbed them again, molding them and making her gasp. Turning her head, she met him over her shoulder for a passionate kiss. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, exploring it while she reciprocated. His hands slid down her body to her pants and quickly pushed them down to her knees. Mallory groaned at the cool air on her bare skin. She broke the kiss only to latch onto his lower beak with her teeth, nibbling on the lip roughly then running her tongue over it in silent apology for biting too hard, producing a groan from Wildwing when she broke the kiss to breath.

"We shouldn't." She tried, seeing as they were in the gym.

"But we are." He shut down her protests as he kissed his way down and back up her body. Slipping his pants down some, he placed himself at her entrance and gently pushed into her. Mallory fell forward onto her hands and arched her back as he held her hips in place. Wildwing closed his eyes and pressed his forehead in between her shoulders, taking a deep breath to calm himself down before he started moving.

Mallory pressed back into him telling him she wanted him to start. He slowly and gently moved. Leaning down over her, his chest laid over her back and he nuzzled his cheek against hers lovingly. His right hand released her hip to move up and tenderly turn her head so that she looked over at him while he was making love to her. They panted while moving together, staring intimately into each other's eyes. Wildwing's hand reminded resting against her cheek keeping her eyes locked with his while the other slipped from her hip to her currently flat womb, the muscles there flexing under his fingertips with their movements. It was long before both reached their climax together.

Breathless they both lay resting on the mat with Wildwing curled around her. Mallory closed her eyes at the feeling of his finger drawing circles on her stomach where their child was growing. She had no doubt that he would be a good father and it was clear he wanted to be one, it was a shame she wasn't going to be able to stay with him. Orion's deal was one that was too good to pass up.

"So no more talk of getting rid of our baby?" He asked.

"No more. I don't think I could if I wanted to." Her hand slipped down under where his was resting. "I love it already too." His hand settled over hers and he kissed her shoulder.

"Good." He smiled happy that she wasn't going to get rid of their baby but it faded when he realized she hadn't told him that she loved him too. It didn't matter, he loved her and he would take care of her and his duckling no matter what. He wished that she reciprocated those feelings but he wasn't going to force it, she had been through enough lately.

…..

A day later…

Both females of the team were on the ice rink passing around the puck and enjoying hanging out like they used to before shit hit the fan with Orion and other drama.

"Tanya I need to talk to you about something." The team tech turned to look at Mallory waiting for her to go on. "Wildwing knew about my pregnancy."

Tanya tensed, nervously twisting her hands on her hockey stick. "I-I'm sorry Mallory. I didn't tell him but I did let him look it up on the Medicom."

"I know Tanya. It's okay. In the send, you made a better decision then I did. I actually wanted to say thank you."

Her shoulders sagged in relief. "Oh good you're not mad at me. So what are you gonna do?"

"Have the baby, raise a duckling."

"I'm glad but what about Orion?"

Mallory flinched at the name, in turn making Tanya cringe a little at mentioning him. "Tanya I want to tell you something but I don't want you to be angry at me." Tanya didn't say anything, just nodded in understanding, letting her know to continue.

Taking a deep breath Mallory explained what happened with Orion and how she couldn't shoot him but left his deal out of the explanation.

"M-Mallory I wouldn't be able to do that! What duck in their right mind could? I mean if it were me and Duke, I couldn't kill him n-no matter what he did to me because I love him and when you've loved someone that strongly, there is always gonna be a part of you that can't hurt them. I don't blame you for that."

"What would you do if you were me?" She asked, for the first time since Orion got here she was looking to someone else for guidance.

"Wh-when it comes to something I care about or worry over so much, I'm not always logical. As you know." She joked at little uncomfortable. "S-sometimes it makes it impossible to know what the right decision is." Tanya looked at her hands. "I couldn't tell you what I would do because I don't truly understand your situation. That's a decision that your gonna have to make, just keep in mind how your decision will affect those around you. Especially someone who's in love with you." Tanya was hinting at Wildwing's feelings about Mallory without out right saying it.

Mallory nodded. _"Tanya's right. Every time I've tried to do this on my own things go from bad to worse. I don't want to admit it but I can't think this through logically. I can't do this on my own."_ She thought about the scrape of paper in her bedroom with a contact number for Orion. _"That's what I would have done before when I was trying to go it alone. I need to trust in my team like everyone has been saying and believe that they'll be able to handle fighting Orion."_

…..

Opening the door to Wildwing's room she walked in to see him doing bench-presses with Grin there as his spotter. Seeing Mallory walk in he did one last press and put the weight back on the rack. "Thanks Grin. I think I'm done for the day." He grabbed his water bottle next to him and took a swig while sitting on the bench.

Grin nodded and left to give the two privacy but not before placing a hand on Mallory's shoulder as a friendly greeting. Once he was gone, Wildwing stood up and greeted her with a kiss but seeing the serious look on her face he knew something was up. "Hey what's wrong?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay?"

"It's about Orion." She took a breath and explained what happened with Orion back at the high school but this time she didn't leave out the deal Orion made her.

He took it surprisingly well as he rubbed his temples in frustration. "Mallory… you really need to understand that when it comes to Orion, you're not logical. I can't trust you. You should never go off to face him alone because you make the wrong decision." He'd always been able to depend on her before but not with Orion. Apparently, she had loved him so much that even now she couldn't hurt him. He knew he had no reason to be but Wildwing was a little jealous.

"I know." She looked down ashamed of herself. Mallory was a soldier; she was better than this. Ever since this drama with Wildwing and Tanya started it had messed with her balance but throwing Orion into the situation was what swept her feet out from under her and sent her crashing down. "That's why I came to you. When it comes to Orion I'm not logical. I need to step outside of my head and view the situation without emotion but I can't. I need you to do it for me. I need your help… I can't do this without you." She took his hand and held it tightly. "Wildwing, at one point in my life I loved him. If it had been me in Orion's place and you in mine, would you be able to kill me? Would you have pulled the trigger?"

He sighed, she had a point. "No never."

Wildwing studied her face. She was putting all her faith and trust in him. Something she had completely lacked since she began to suspect Orion was here. Bringing his hand up he touched her cheek affectionally, rubbing his thumb along the side of her beak. "Alright let's come up with a plan."

She smiled, leaning forward she kissed him as a thank you. The relief she felt when talking to him was astounding. She wondered how she would feel if she told him about Orion taking her down here in the Pond. _"Should I tell him?"_ She realized that by telling him this, it was going to make even less sense to him as to why she didn't shoot Orion when she had the chance. Thing is, if it had been anyone else she wouldn't have had a problem pulling that trigger but no one can help the way they feel.

Coming to her decision, Mallory breathed in deeply and looked Wildwing in the eyes. "There's something else I need to tell you. Something I haven't wanted to talk about, since I figured it out. Only Grin and Tanya know."

His brown eyes widened slightly. _"Is she finally opening up and telling me what happened?"_

"Orion was here the day I couldn't remember anything, the day everyone went to the movies. He had control of me and he used that control to rape me." She watched his face for his reaction. Wildwing's brows knitted in anger but was surprisingly calm, so she went on. "I can't remember the act but when I woke up in my bed I was naked. I know I didn't go to bed like that."

Wildwing listened quietly, clenching his fists tightly and cracking his knuckles. He ground his teeth together and breathed deeply through his nostrils. He already knew this but it still didn't stop the anger he felt at hearing it.

Surprisingly she didn't shed any tears talking about it to Wildwing, instead she was relieved. She sighed as he hugged her. "He won't get away with this. He'll never touch you like that again. I promise." He wanted to protect her from everything and destroy anything that threatened her. When he got his hands on Orion, he would make him pay.

"Wildwing, you don't have to promise me that. Don't make promises you can't keep. No one can protect me, not from him." She whispered, gazing with unseeing eyes in front of her, lost in thought. "When he finds out I'm having your child he might kill me. Kill us."

"What happened to having faith in your team? Isn't that why you told me this? Because you trust us, you trust me?"

Mallory stayed quiet. _"Crap he's right. If I'm going to do this, then I need to commit to it."_ She thought to herself.

He interrupted her thoughts. "And when have I ever broken my promises?" He questioned very seriously. Mallory thought about it and realized that he never had. Not once has Wildwing broken a promise that he had made to the team. Wildwing took her hand in his, staring down at it being held within his larger one. He never realized how dainty her hands were compared to his. Even though he knew she wasn't weak, at that moment he saw how much smaller she was then him and it worried him that she could get hurt. "I'll never let him kill you. I'll protect you. I promise."

Mallory found comfort in his promise of protection but could he really keep it with Orion here? Looks like they would find out. There wasn't much time to think about since he picked her up and carried her to his bed.

…..

He kept his one arm wrapped around her bare back holding her form to him. The bed sheet came down to her mid back, allowing his other hand to gently run along her curvy side and up again as she snoozed peacefully on his chest.

Wildwing smiled at Mallory as she slept. He kissed the top of her head, nuzzling his beak there before he quietly got up. Putting on some sweat pants, he went to the computer in his room that was linked to Drake One. Searching for the files he was looking for he found the ones that Mallory had spoken off that day. Opening it and fast forwarding to noon he found what she was talking about. He played the footage, watching as Mallory fell to her knees screaming in pain and holding her head. The lights slowly went out and the camera flickered but the silhouette of the male duck was clear, Wildwing recognized him. The last image was Mallory placing her hand in Orion's and him pulling her toward her room, then the camera went black.

Wildwing watched the footage hatefully. "I'm going to find this bastard." Turning off the screen, he stood there for a moment until arms slipped around his waist and feminine hands came to rest on his pectoral muscles. He looked back at the red head hugging him from behind. Mallory's face was pressed into his back, giving him comfort because she knew he was upset. Wildwing took both her hands from his chest and brought them to his mouth, laying a kiss on each. "I thought I was supposed to be the tree." He laughed.

"What?" She looked at him confused.

"Nothing." Turning around he picked her up bridal style carrying her back to his bed so that they could both get more rest. "Just been talking to Grin, that's all."

…..

The score was two vs two against the Road Island Rattlers. Stealing the puck from one of the players Tanya charged down the ice seeing an opening she passed to puck off to Nosedive who took it the rest of the way down the rink shot a puck at the goalie so fast that he actually dove out of the way to avoid being hit but it. The puck went clean through the net and smashed into the wall behind it, going through the wall as well. One lucky fan grabbed the puck that stopped at his feet and held it up in victory, only to have more people try to jump on top of him and steal it. Hands and feet were everywhere as humans wrestled around for the puck.

The ducks lined back up, waiting for the refs to grab another puck and place it into play. While all this was happening, the crowds started cheering and laughing like crazy. Hearing it Wildwing looked around to see what they were going nuts over until he spotted it. Some crazy human that looked like he was in college had gotten onto the ice and was attempting to run across it… naked. 'The Mighty Ducks' was painted across his chest in big sloppy green letters. "Ducks! I love you!" He screamed making everyone look up. All players on the ice scattered, trying to stay away from the crazy naked guy.

Mallory and Tanya took cover behind Wildwing's goal, all too soon Nosedive and Duke joined them laughing about the human coming out onto the ice naked. Grin stayed in front of the goal with Wildwing ready to keep the man away from their teammates only they didn't have too. One of the refs tackled the human and the other helped carry him off the ice.

Mallory looked over at a blushing Tanya. "I didn't know there was hair down there on them. Gross!"

Tanya tried to shake the disturbing image from her head. "I'm currently trying to forget that image thank you very much." Tanya shivered making everyone on the team laugh. They finished up winning the game with three to two.

It had been a weird night but in a way, they needed it. It had cheered them up and lifted all their spirits a little bit. Nosedive was commending the college kid on his bravery. "Seriously, that dude was balls out bold."

"Oh they were out all right!" Tanya laughed in turn making the team laugh.

"One would think he would be concerned about what the ladies think with his shrinkage." Mallory said.

Duke almost spit up his water, managing to choke it down through the laughter. "HA! Who could tell if something was down there! There was so much hair!" Everyone laughed again. Shaking their heads at how odd humans were.

"Does that mean Phil has that too?" Nosedive commented with a mischievous smirk, knowing how everyone would reacted. Of course, everyone made disgusted noises and comments.

"OH GROSS!" Tanya yelled.

"Seriously why did you have to say it?" Wildwing shivered.

"So not going to be able to look at Phil for like a week now." Mallory threw her towel at Nosedive's head. The others followed suit laughing at the horrified sounds he made about being hit with his teammates' sweaty towels. Everyone laughed when he disgustedly threw the towels off himself.

The thought of Orion and the threat he posed wasn't hanging over their heads for a time. Thoughts of defeating Dragaunus and going home were pushed aside for some time to themselves. At this moment, in the locker room, they were just enjoying each other's company and friendship.

Until Nosedive pulled out a wet towel and started a wiping war with Duke. It had been going fine until Nosedive's towel accidental caught Mallory on the butt while she was organizing her locker. She yelped and stood straight up, her shoulders stiff and back rigged. The crack made a resounding echo through the room that was followed by dead silence. Nosedive and Duke watched nervously with big eyes and sweat dripping down their foreheads. Grin, Tanya, and Wildwing looked back and forth between the three waiting to see what would happen and Mallory slowly turned around. "Noossseeeeddddiiivvve." She drawled out his name in annoyance.

"Oops." He said quietly, sweating even more.

Mallory dropped her bag to the ground and grabbed her towel. With quick hand movements, suddenly it was wrapped into a whip like shape. "You whipped me in the butt with a towel… It is on." She said very seriously.

"Mommy." Nosedive squeaked seeing the grin spread across Mallory's face. He spent a solid ten minutes trying to stay away from Mallory but in the end, she caught him right in the butt where he caught her. He yelped and rubbed his butt while everyone laughed at his expense.

"Well you did do it to her first baby brother." Wildwing patted Dive on the shoulder, smirking at his younger brother.

"Ah come one man! It was just a little tap."

"Yep." Mallory joined in on their conversation. "But I had to do it. You know so that you understand what you'll get back in return if you do it again. Think of it as a preemptive strike to deter you from doing it again in the future." She smiled at Dive.

"Point made." Nosedive smiled, finished getting dressed no worse for wear. "One would think you grew up with a big brother with that kind of thinking." He didn't realize he hit a nerve for her. She didn't outwardly react but Duke and Wildwing shared a look.

"Oh you know, the military and all that stuff." She brushed it off and finished getting changed.

They were in such a good mood that they all agreed that they wanted to go out for some victory ice cream. On the way out the door, Duke had his arm around Tanya, who laughed with him as he talked about what a weird night it had been. Nosedive and Grin were arguing about Bernie the bear again. While Wildwing and Mallory brought up the rear. They walked side by side, their hands brushing each other constantly. Occasionally, Mallory would slip her fingers in between his and let them dangle there. His would gently squeeze down on hers ever so slightly in affection. They had to be careful that they weren't too obvious though, Orion could be out there so hanging all over each other in public was dangerous for them. If Orion's photocollage was anything to go by then it showed that there was no such thing as too careful with him around. Their fingertips touched for a little longer and then when they started getting close to groups of people, so they moved away from each other, keeping a friendly distance. Arriving at the ice cream parlor they grabbed a table towards the back where they could see everyone coming in and eat their ice cream in peace.

Mallory smiled when she felt Wildwing pressed his leg up against hers in a secretive and flirty form of contact that no one seemed to notice. She moved her foot so that it went to the inside of his and rubbed hers along his. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she enjoyed the smirk that tilted his beak and a small blush touched her cheeks causing him to smirk even more.

Discreetly his hand that had been in his lap moved and settled over her stomach where his child was growing. She ran her tongue over her edge of her beak and placed her hand on top of his, petting it to let him know she was happy, all the while she didn't stop watching him from the corner of her eyes. His eyes softened visibly at her affection. They both slipped their hands back to the top of the table without the others noticing the intimate interaction that had just happened right in front of them.

When they finished up their ice cream, they walked back to the Pond with Mallory and Wildwing again bringing up the rear again. They talked softly and Mallory turned to him only to see he had some ice cream on the side of his cheek. She laughed. Wildwing looked at her in confusion. "What?"

Looking around she checked her surroundings checking if anyone was around to see but there was no one. "You have a little something right here." She pointed to the spot on her cheek to show where it was. He wiped his cheek with his finger and found the ice cream she was talking about. A blush touched his cheeks.

"How did that get there?" He mumbled.

"I have no idea." She smirked, glancing around again. Quickly she grabbed his finger with the ice cream on it and brought it to her mouth only to lick it clean. Wildwing's jaw dropped at the feel of her warm wet tongue licking the ice cream off. "Yummy." She smirked, letting go of his hand and licking her beak. Again, Wildwing had the same reaction he had the last time and he lick his own beak in response. He was so tempted to lean in and take her mouth in a kiss but the thought that Orion might see it stopped him.

"Why do you tease me like this?" He whispered, his voice a little raspy.

"To fire you up for later." She glanced at him with seductive eyes which only served to throw fuel on his already burning fire.

"You've certainly done that." He brought the finger that she licked to his mouth and tasted it. "I don't think you realize how crazy you drive me sometimes." He said letting his hands rest at his sides.

"The good kind of crazy?" She asked.

"Oh yeah." He nodded.

The rest of the walk back was silent until it was broken by Nosedive loud exclamation at the sight at the red hunter drone standing outside of the Pond.

The ducks had their guns out, ready to blow the red drone to pieces if it attacked but they hadn't been prepared for what it did. Instead of engaging them in combat it lifted a large brown cloth bag that was dripping blood on the bottom. Grabbing the bottom of the sack the robot dumped its bloody contents onto the ground. Rolling to a stop at Wildwing's feet was Dragaunus's head, along with Siege's, Wraith's, and the Chameleon's. All with bulging eyes and pain stricken faces, frozen in their last horrible moments.

Wildwing's stomach rolled at the sight. Nosedive walked off and leaned against the side of the building, then emptied the contents of his stomach on the ground, throwing up the ice cream he had just eaten. Tanya had to look away while Duke wrapped an arm around her, staring at the mess, he hated those lizards but no one deserved to die like this. Grin remained stoic besides the slight cracking of his knuckles to show his displeasure. Mallory stared with large horrified eyes at the heads on the ground, she had never seen something so violent or so cruel. The Orion she knew was truly gone and again she had let him get away. Glancing over at the others she locked eyes with Duke. His eyes shifted to the mess at their feet then back at her, shaking his head slightly, telling her that Orion had to go.

She nodded to let him know she understood but he still watched her as she turned her eyes back to the robot. "Make your decision Mallory. You have until midnight tomorrow night." It walked away leaving all the stunned ducks to look at Mallory in confusion, all but Wildiwng.

…..

"Did you contact him?" Wildwing paced the room.

"No."

"Mallo-"

"NO! I swear I didn't!"

He growled to himself. Orion was making the first move and forcing their hands, it was clear he was getting impatient. "We'll have to move forward with our plan and be ready for tomorrow night. I'll need to tell the others to meet me in the Readyroom." He said talking to himself more than Mallory.

"Only I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not."

"Wildwing we don't have a choice. If I don't show up then who knows what he'll do. He may blow up our only chance of getting home. I have to be there for this to seem legit."

He didn't like this. Already Orion was fucking up their plans and he didn't even know about them. "I'd rather never go home then put you in the same room as him." Mallory clicked her beak shut, not sure what to say to that. She was touched that he cared for her so much that he'd rather never go home then risk her.

"Wildwing. What about the others? We can't selfishly make that decision on our own. I'll be beside you always. I won't leave you side once." He wasn't looking at her so she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach shocking him. "I swear on our child. I won't leave your side not even for a minute."

He studied her face for a couple seconds then sighed. He really didn't like this.

…..


	16. Chapter 16

Unrequited Love

I don't own the Mighty Ducks.

Unsure of what to do with the heads of their former enemies, they called Klegghorn and the police. Discreetly the police captain and his men took them off to be incinerated while Duke, Tanya, and Grin watched them drive away. Nosedive went down into the Pond because he was feeling sick, he mentioned going to play some video games while Mallory and Wildwing left to discuss Orion.

"I ca-can't believe it. Their gone." Tanya watched the police cars get further and further away, carrying what was left of their enemies.

"An unpleasant way to go." Grin said, like Tanya his eyes were glued to the police cars. "Karma is truly a cruel teacher."

"Yah well I prefer it to be them then us." Duke said, wrapping an arm around her waist. She leaned into him, nuzzling her head against his but stopped when their coms went off. Duke opened his and they all watched as Wildwing's face appeared on screen.

"Guys meeting in the kitchen. Be there in five." They all nodded as their leaders image disappeared from the screen, indicating that he had closed his com.

"What more could happen now?" Tanya sighed.

…..

Tanya stared at Wildwing in shock at the plan. _"I had to open my beak."_ She thought to herself.

"I don't know Wildwing, this sounds dangerous." Duke looked over at Mallory and down at her stomach. Tanya clasped his hand under the table, her fingers clenching nervously. She clearly wasn't comfortable with the situation either but it was looking like it was out of their hands at this point.

"If we don't do this then Orion will destroy our only way home?" Nosedive questioned, completely oblivious to Tanya's and Duke's concern.

Mallory nodded. "Without a doubt and who knows what else he'll do."

"Mallory and I will move in from the rooftops while you guys take the Migrator. After talking it over we know that Orion is going to have the last of those robots ready to defend the area. They'll see the Migrator coming and attack. We need you guys to take care of them and get them out of the way. Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah of course but I'm worried about you two." Duke said.

"If you switch the Migrator to battle mode you should have no problems destroying them quickly. Then you can help us with Orion." Wildwing looked at each of their faces. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Then it's time to set the trap." He looked over at Mallory who nodded. "Get your rest team. We don't know what tomorrow might bring." He dismissed everyone and walked with Mallory to her room.

…..

Nosedive went to do a little comic book reading. He grabbed the graphic novel Zor off the shelf and jumped up onto his bed. "If I'm gonna died then I'm gonna die knowing Zontar saves the day."

Nosedive knew this may have been a little childish and goofy but he did this on purpose. After all he was still only a teenager and had done things that most adults never had to do. Adulthood had been thrust unfairly onto him and his brother at a young age when their father abandoned them and their mother died. Now they were fighting a war against a powerful overload by themselves. They lost friends and homes, crap they lost their home-world for crying out loud. He had seen enough death and destruction to last him a lifetime while only being a teenager. To top it all off Nosedive had to learn to become a part of an elite military unit on a strange planet surrounded by strangers in order to survive. The teenager had every right to be jaded but he refused to let the situation take his childhood from him and it was his outright stubbornness that kept him as happy as he was.

So, if playing pranks, reading comic books, watching cartoons, and goofing-off in general was going to do that for him then that's exactly what he was going to do. The blond flipped through the pages to where he last left off, using the comic to get his mind off the dangerous night to come.

…..

Grin went to meditate. Sitting cross legged in his meditation circle on one of the plushy pillows in the center of the room he closed his eyes and placed the top of his wrists over his knees, a soft hum vibrating up his throat. After a few moments, he realized he didn't feel calm. If anything, he was antsy.

Sighing he opened his eyes and let them trace the room until they fell on his meditation crystal that Mallory bought him. A kind gesture of a good friend. Of its own accord his hand sought out the smoky quartz crystal. The grey rock with hard edges sat perfectly in the palm of his hand. Mallory may not have known it but a smoky quartz was a crystal meant to balance emotions. It was for dispelling negative emotional energy.

It meant more to him then she realized. Not only did this type of crystal help him as a child with his aggressive actions and ill temper but it was the first gift he had received from his wife, Lisa. His favorite thing about it was that the crystal itself was the color of her eyes. To him it was the most beautiful color in the all the worlds he had been to. When he gazed into this crystal he saw his wife again. "We will be together again. Whether in this life or the next." He spoke to the crystal as if Lisa could hear him through it. Gently he clutched it to his heart and drifted into a peaceful meditation. He was ready for whatever fate was in store for him.

…..

Tanya and Duke went to her bedroom. They planned to spend a private evening together.

"What do you think will happen tomorrow?" Tanya questioned as she sat on the soft bed, looking down at the ground, a little depressed at the thought that someone might not come back tomorrow. She had a horrible feeling in her gut.

Duke shrugged his shoulders, seeing the woman he loved staring sadly at the ground. "I don' know." He took her beak in his fingers and tilted her head up so she was gazing into his eyes. "But I'd rather spend this night paying attention to you then thinkin' about tomorrow. We don't know what's gonna happen so let's make the most of right now."

Tanya smiled at him. _"How did I get so lucky."_ She leaned up and closed the gap between their beaks for a sweet kiss.

…..

In Mallory's room, Wildwing wrapped his arms around her, resting them both on her stomach while he breathed in the smell of her hair. Closing his eyes, he focused of how she felt in his arms at this moment. "I don't want to do this." He spoke softly. Inside his chest, he felt like his heart was going to claw its way out with how nervous he was. The last thing he wanted was for Orion to get his hands on Mallory but they were pushed into a corner and their backs were against the wall.

Mallory placed her hands over his, leaning heavily back into him. "What choice do we have?" He didn't answer, he knew they didn't have a choice. Turning in his arms so that she faced him, she looked up at him seeing the golden mask in place. Wanting to see his face, her hands carefully came up to the mask, going slow in case he wanted to protest. Gently she removed the mask, it glowed gold and turned white, looking like a plain hockey mask as she set it down on the night stand. The mask hid the emotions written across his face, his brown eyes were soft and loving, while worry creased his eyebrows. She smiled and stood on her tip toes, kissing the furrow in his brow, making it loosen as he closed his eyes at the feel of her kiss. She so loved to see his face, the snow-white feathers contrasted handsomely with his deep rich brown eyes.

Feeling her drop back down to the balls of her feet he opened his eyes and gazed down at his lover. _"She only comes up to my shoulders. How can someone be so small and yet so strong?"_ He thought as he tightened his hold on her making her hug him back. Despite her strength he was worried for her, he loved her and didn't want anything to happen to her. _"I won't let anything happen to you or my child Mallory. I swear on my life that I'll protect you."_

There was something in Wildwing's eyes that made her wonder what he was thinking about. They were soft and gentle but there was a steadfastness there that she had never seen before. Wildwing saw the question in her eyes but leaned in and took her mouth in a sensual kiss. She responded fervently until it led them onto her bed where they took their time making love to each other for what could be their last.

The next morning both ducks were dressed and seated on Mallory's unmade bed. Her hand gripped the bed sheets, palms sweating as she looked at the number on the paper. Wildwing sat next to her as support. His right hand was resting on her leg as he watched her.

She couldn't believe she was doing this but it was all part of the plan. "Here goes nothing." She breathed in deeply and made the call.

…..

Orion was watching the last of Dragaunus's drone prepare for the other ducks. Beside him stood the very last silver robot that he had upgraded. It would stay with him, hiding in the shadows of the factory in case he needed help. He watched the drones mount the large high tech dish on top of the roof, it was made specially to confuse the mask and hide body signatures from its scans. Wildwing would be able to see through some walls but with all the equipment and piping in this building, Wildwing wasn't going to be able to spot him. This was just in case the nosey leader decided to follow her and try to stop her. No doubt her teammates wouldn't be willing to let her go, so he had a little surprise for them. An ambush. They would be able to handle it and the drones were instructed not to kill them, just to hold them off. He only needed time to grab Mallory and go.

Mallory had called to let him know she was going to take the deal, she would give herself over to him and he would leave the Raptor intact for the others to go home with. He and Mallory would take the dimensional teleporter that he made to go back to Puckworld. He had sent her a text on when to meet him and where. It was all coming together.

Their future together was already written in his mind. "Finally, tonight's the night."

…..

The factory was completely empty, all employees were home resting after a long day.

Mallory and Wildwing took the rooftops to get to the meeting place. Standing on top of the building next to the factory, Wildwing scanned it but something was wrong, he couldn't get any readings off the building. "Weird I don't see body signatures and there's no way to get a clear view of what's going on in there. This is getting dangerous." He sighed, the situation was looking worse and worse.

Opening his com he called the others in the Migrator. "Guys where are you?"

Nosedive's voice came over the com. "We're in position bro."

"Alright. Move in but be careful. Who knows what kind of tricks Orion could have up his sleeve."

"Over and out bro. Be careful, I kind of got used to having you around after all this time." Nosedive hung up.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He looked at Mallory, hoping she would back out but knowing she wouldn't.

"Yeah. I'm ready." She nodded. Both Mallory and Wildwing snuck in through a vent trying to be as quiet as possible. "I don't like this." Wildwing whispered.

"What choice do we have?" They both quietly jumped down to the ground floor without making too much noise.

"How about one that doesn't put our duckling in danger." He grumbled, checking their surroundings.

"Shhh. I know it's not right but it is what it is."

He nodded, agreeing but still he wanted her to go back to the Migrator. They didn't see Orion hovering in the shadows above them listening in on their conversation. _"She's pregnant with his duckling?"_ He was betrayed, he was heartbroken… he was pissed. His plans were completely shattered; his twisted mind saw her as ruined. _"She carries another's child."_ Orion was enraged at the thought that another had her. _"That child should have been mine."_ Orion clenched his fists but didn't give his position away. He was seeing red, silently seething. _"She was supposed to come here alone and join me in a new life together. This is the ultimate betrayal. How could she do this to me!"_

Stealthily he went further into the factory, using the balconies above them to move without being detected. Their other teammates were being kept busy with the last of Dragaunus's hunter drones, so they wouldn't be interrupted during their 'dance.'

Both mighty ducks kept their eyes on everything around them as they moved deeper into the factory. Mallory could feel that sensation that she got when she was already in Orion's trap. "This isn't right." She whispered.

Wildwing was about to ask her why when he was interrupted. "So, you've betrayed me." Both their heads snapped in the voice's direction. Orion stood above them balancing easily on a railing, holding onto chains that hung from the ceiling all the way down to the floor. Jumping off he slid down and landed on his feet in front of them. His handsome face reflected his rage. "How could you do this to me? After all I've been through to be with you again." He stepped forward, both Mallory and Wildwing aimed their weapons at him. With a quick flick of his wrist Orion tossed two magnetic grey circles at their weapons, landing on Mallory's gun and Wildwing's wrist launcher, it electrocuted the weapons. Mallory dropped hers but Wildwing was just shooting his when the device hit it. It knocked his aim off and activated the explosive pucks. The puck shot off into the factory hitting a large generator, blowing it up and setting off a chain reaction that started taking out large sections of the factory. The building shook unstably, pieces of metal and roof started falling nearby.

The distraction had given Orion enough time to run at them and attack. They both avoided his first punches and kicks, working together to fight him off. He swung at Wildwing first who stepped back and avoided the punch. Mallory kicked at his stomach but he took a step back and attacked again. Both kicked and punched at Orion, who dodged and blocked, somehow managing to keep the duo at bay.

Wildwing took a swing but Orion ducked elbowing the drake in the stomach. It didn't do much and Wildwing was attacking him again, furiously trying to keep Orion away from Mallory. He was like a duck possessed. "Mallory back off I've got this." He didn't want her here in this fight when she was in fairly delicate condition. The baby was so small that it wouldn't die from a hit to the stomach but she could get badly hurt and he wasn't willing to risk them both.

"No way." She dodged a piece of falling debris and got back in the fight.

"Mallory I mean it!" He kicked Orion in the side, knocking him away from them both. "I need you to be safe."

"And I need you to pay attention to the fight." She growled, Orion got back to his feet and charged Wildwing but Mallory did a roundhouse kick at him forcing him to jump back to avoid the blow.

Orion had to admit Mallory and Wildwing made an almost unstoppable team. In his mind, he could see himself standing next to her fighting, not Wildwing. "That's gone now." He spoke to himself, clearly not in his right mind. "You've taken that from me!"

He lunged forward, enraged at the knowledge that she had let her leader touch her and be inside of her. He didn't care that the building was coming down around them, he had one goal in mind; killing Mallory and Wildwing. Both ducks blocked and defended Orion's quick punches but he got a good elbow into Wildwing face knocking him back at step. Orion's leg shot out knocking Wildwing on his back, sending him sliding across the floor.

It left Orion free to attack Mallory. She swung at him but he flipped over her, landing behind his obsession, he hit the back of her right knee, making her fall to it. Using the momentum to her advantage Mallory went down to the ground and spun on her knee, launching her foot into his stomach. She rolled away and jumped to her feet. He was on her in seconds kicking and punching at her. Mallory dodged but was being backed into a corner. She picked up a random piece of metal equipment and threw it at Orion who ducked to dodge it. Seeing his distraction, Mallory charged and jumped up, intending to kick him in the face but Orion was fast. He grabbed her leg and used her momentum to slam her down on the floor in front of him. Keeping her ankle in his hand he kicker her in her right thigh hard, a sickening crack was heard and Mallory screamed in pain from her leg being broken. He released her leg and watched her roll onto her stomach trying to crawl away. "So this is what it's come to." He reached for her but was tackled by an enrage Wildwing.

"You son of a bitch." The team captain, got on top of Orion and repeatedly punched his face. Orion growled at each hit. The duck had gotten stronger from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every hit sent Orion's world spinning. Final he caught the white feathered drakes large fist and delivered a swift punch of his own, putting enough force behind it to knock the drake off himself. Shaking off the pain, Orion charged Wildwing who rolled with the hit to his feet and pulled up his ice shield. He rushed Orion attempting to hit him with it like he did the robots but Orion was too fast. The crazed drake spun to the side delivering a quick jab to Wildwing's unprotected kidney. The hit landed but Wildwing swung his shield back this time knocking Orion off his feet. Orion went with the hit and rolled with the hit to his feet, realizing that the leader was a more difficult foe then he first thought.

Wildwing was on him again before he could get his footing. The ice shield bashed into his face, Orion stumbled back and pulled out a very large blade that he kept on his person at all times. It wasn't much against the formidable shield but if he hit it just right the blue barrier would crumble. Slashing a stabbing at the glowing barrier that came from the duck's left arm he finally found its weakness. Moving in fast he pressed the point of the knife into the weak spot, Wildwing's eyes rounded in surprised red circles when his ice shield started cracking.

Twisting the blade and putting more pressure on it, Orion was determined to break the barrier before it broke his weapon. Finally, the shield shattered, leaving Wildwing more vulnerable. He attempted to stab Wildwing but his arm was grabbed and twisted, the long blade was knocked out of his hand and tossed across the room, coming to a stop next to some heavy machinery behind Wildwing. Orion kicked Wildwing in the chest, knocking him back into the heavy machinery. Trying to find some leverage to stand up Wildwing placed his one arm on the table he hit.

Seeing his enemies arm on the table under the crane holding the large machine, Orion pulled the release lever next to him, dropping it on Wildwing's left arm. Wildwing yelled in agony as the large machine crushed his arm under it, affectively pinning him, his armor did nothing to protect it against such weight.

"WILDWING!" Mallory yelled out terrified for him. She looked over at her gun only ten feet from her now. _"I have to get to it!"_

"This wasn't how it was supposed to be! That should be my child growing in her! NOT YOURS!" Orion wiped the blood from the corner of his beak, glaring down at the suffering Wildwing accusingly. He turned and approached Mallory, not seeing Wildwing trying to grab him and stop him.

Mallory was still crawling to her discarded gun, her broken leg slowing her down. On his way to her, Orion picked up a steel pipe that had fallen from the ceiling. "Why did it have to be this way?" Orion asked her as he stood over her. "We could have been so happy together." Using his foot, he forced her onto her back so he could see her face. She groaned as he rolled her over none to gently.

Seeing Orion standing over Mallory, Wildwing ignored the pain in his arm and used his feet to get the discarded blade not far from him. He pulled it close and with his free hand, slid it under the heavy machinery that had fallen on his arm, attempting to use it to try to pry his arm free.

Mallory looked up at the duck that was going to kill her, a drake she used to love. "Orion. Don't do this." She knew reasoning with him was pointless, she didn't even know why she bothered speaking to him. The old Orion was gone.

Wildwing growled at the blade that wasn't doing anything to move the heavy equipment. He looked over at Mallory on her back with Orion's foot on her shoulder, holding her in place. A steel pipe clutched in his hand. He was going to kill her and Wildwing couldn't get free to save her! He promised her he would protect her! Desperately he started hitting the machine with the sword, hoping to break a piece off as anxiety clawed at his chest. It chipped at the metal but not quick enough. He kept doing it until the sound of metal breaking rang through the room.

Orion turned to see what Wildwing was doing only to smirk at the broken blade in the leader's hand. The white feathered drake stared at it in horror, sheer terror gripping him at the thought that Mallory was going to die. "It's time to end this Mallory." Orion turned back to her, gripping the pipe so hard that his knuckles where turning white. "I didn't want this but you've left me no choice."

Hearing this Wildwing glared at his trapped arm, the only thing stopping him from going to Mallory's rescue. _"No. I can't, I won't let this happen! I must protect her! I must protect my duckling! I made a promise!"_ Determination filled every inch of his soul as he raised the broken blade high over his head and he brought it down on his trapped arm, hacking at it feverishly, ignoring the pain. He's own warm blood splattered across his face as he continued hacking at the crushed limb. The sickening crunch and crack of his bone was heard and the rest came off easily. Tearing what was left of the destroyed flesh away from the useless limb, he charged Orion's turned back with the broken blade still in hand, leaving a large trail of blood behind him.

Orion lifted the pipe over his head, aiming it down at Mallory's heart. "I love you Mallory." Tears glazed his eyes. "Goodbye." Putting all his strength into his downward stab he went to finish her off but the feeling of jagged metal piercing his back threw him off balance and he ended up stabbing the ground next to her head. Orion stayed crouched the pipe still in hand, his eyes wide in shock and pain. Mallory stared up at him with frightened eyes, not understanding what had just happened until she saw the jagged blade coming out of Orion's chest. He looked down at it and laughed, blood dribbling down the side of his mouth. Mallory's eyes trailed up to the welder of the blade, seeing a bloody Wildwing standing over them. The red eyes of the mask glowing menacingly, making him a frightening sight to behold. With a good yank, he pulled the weapon out of Orion's chest, letting him start to bleed out.

Orion stared at Mallory's face, as if seeing her for the first time. It was as if a fog had cleared from his mind. He remembered the first time he saw her and how much he had loved her. "What was I thinking? How could I hurt you?" He closed his eyes and fell to the side, unmoving. His body smacked down onto the metal floor but his eyes remained locked on Mallory.

With him out of the way Mallory finally saw the damage done to Wildwing, his left arm was gone from the top of the elbow down. He fell to his knees, dropping the broken weapon. Mallory moved forward with as much speed as her body would allow and wrapped her arms around his torso to keep him from falling on his face, using her one good leg to hold them up while on her knees. "Wildwing! What have you done to yourself?" Tears came to her eyes at the disfiguring injury he had sustained.

"It was useless anyway." He said breathing heavily. Mallory grabbed her knife and cut the bottom of her top away. Using the fabric as a tie to cut off the circulation to his left arm. "This is gonna, hurt and I'm sorry." Tying it around his bicep she yanked hard, tightening it so blood stopped flowing out of his severed limb. It wasn't a clean cut, it had been hacked away. "Damnit, what were you thinking!" She glanced around them, seeing the building was still coming down piece by piece. They had to get out of there or they would be crashed.

"About you and my baby." His one hand went over her womb. "I promised you. I wouldn't let him hurt you." Leaning his forehead down on her he rested a moment. His vision was fading. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked confused.

"I don't think I'm gonna be around to raise our duckling." He slowly fell to his side but Mallory kept him from falling and helped lower him to the floor.

"Don't say that. You'll be fine." Tears, spilled down her cheeks as she finished covering his wound and tied off the temporary wrap. "Wildwing I need you to get to your feet. The building is coming down! You can't die. I love you." She nuzzled him, hitting the emergency button on her com. Where were the others?

"You love me?" His eyes were started to get dull with exhaustion.

"Of course I do." Tears fell onto his mask.

"Hey none of that." He said nudging her beak with his. "I did this because I wanted to protect you."

"Well we both need you so don't go anywhere. Promise." He never broke a promise.

Wildwing smiled, realizing what she was trying to make him do. "Promise." He couldn't die, he had a kid to raise. A large part of the roof tumbled down and fell ten feet from them, smashing into the floor and shaking the room.

The sound of feet rushing towards them could be heard and Tanya's voice called out for them. "We're over here! Hurry! Wildwing's badly hurt!" Mallory yelled. Nosedive was the first to arrive, he was horrified at his brothers' condition but ran to help without pausing.

"Bro! It's gonna be okay!" Nosedive's eyes glazed over with tears but he refused to let them fall.

Tanya arrived next followed by Duke and Grin. They all gasped at the bloody sight but went right to work on saving their teammates. Grin carried Wildwing out to the Migrator while Duke grabbed Mallory. "It's alright Sweetheart we're here." Mallory glanced back at where Orion had fallen to find him still laying there. The sound of the metal ceiling coming down could be heard as everyone ran out of the building before it crushed them. She didn't shed a single tear at the sight of Orion's body disappearing under the rubble, he died a long time ago. Duke raced out of the building to the Migrator where Tanya injected her with a sedative so that they could reset Mallory's broken leg without causing her pain but first they had to save Wildwing.

…..

Wildwing watched the world passing around him, he could see the worried faces of his teammates above him as they rushed him down the halls of the Pond towards the infirmary. He looked at his brother who was talking to him but he couldn't hear what he was saying. Everything was blurred sounding but he could make out the different voices of his teammates when they spoke. Tanya's voice was giving orders that he couldn't understand while Duke and Grin went about preforming the tasks given. Nosedive was charged with keeping him awake. The only face he didn't see was Mallory's. " _Where is she? Is she okay? Did I save her? Is my duckling okay?"_

Then he heard her muffled voice calling out to him. Looking where her voice came from he saw her laying on the Medicom bed next to his. She was safe, she and his duckling were safe. The mask was removed from his face only to be replaced with an anesthetics mask from Puckworld.

Mallory watched as he smiled at her over the mask. His eyes shining at seeing her safe. "You better not die on me you big idiot."

He noticed his vision was getting fuzzy as he glanced around the room. Looking around himself, he turned back to Mallory only to notice that standing off to the corner behind the worried red head was a tall drake with red hair around 24 years old. Wildwing looked at him in confusion as this strange drake approached. Oddly enough no one seemed to notice him and the sound of their frantic voices was drowned out but this drake's footsteps were loud and clear. When he came closer Wildwing saw that he had the same color eyes as Mallory. He seemed to glow all over as he knelt to be eye level with Wildwing. Wildwing wanted to ask who he was but couldn't get the words out thanks to the mask on his face.

Mallory watched Wildwing nervously as he stared off at something that wasn't there. "Tanya what's going on with him? Are we losing him?"

"We will if we don't get the bleeding to stop." Tanya was currently trying to close the major artery in his arm that had been hacked open.

"You don't have to say anything." The strange drake spoke, his eyes shining. "It's pretty obvious who I am just from looking at me." He glanced back at a frightened looking Mallory, a sad smile spread across his face. "You can't go anywhere yet. You got to take care of my little sister." He turned back to look Wildwing in the eyes. "She's already lost so much in her life. It's not fair that she's forced to lose another man that she loves. So, I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen. After all I am her big brother, I'm supposed to look out for her." The drake smirked at him as he started to fade. "Tell her that I love her and that I waiting. Tell her Winston's waiting to see her again and to take her time." Winston disappeared, leaving nothing but what looked like a glowing orb in his wake.

"Wildwing!" He could vaguely hear Mallory yell his name as he slipped into a warm black abyss.

…..

Four days later, in the infirmary, Wildwing was sitting in his bed very drugged up. A clean bandage was wrapped around his stump. Mallory sat in a chair next to him with her left thigh wrapped in a cast, a pair of crutches leaned against the wall next to her. She smirked at her leader, captain, teammate, friend, and lover. "You gave us a real scare those first two days." She scooted to the edge of the bed, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

"Sorry." His one hand reached out to caress her cheek, his eyes shined as he looked at her, no longer dull and listless like they were before. Mallory smiled up at how sweet he was when he was drugged.

"You better be you jerk. I was afraid that you were going to leave me." She teased, turning his palm to give it a kiss.

"Nah. Just a little side tracked. I could never leave you. I love you."

She smirked, knowing that he liked hearing her say it. "I love you too."

"I want to marry you." Mallory's mouth dropped open at his declaration. "Will you marry me Mallory McMallard and become Mallory Flashblade?" She stared at him with widened eyes as he glanced at him missing arm. "Will you take me as I am? For better or for worse."

She stood up carefully, a very serious expression on her face as she sat on his bed. He watched worriedly until she smiled. "Of course. Whatever you want I'll give it to you."

He sighed in relief then laughed. "I want a hockey team of kids."

"You want six kids?" She questioned. _"That would be a lot on my body."_ She thought to herself.

"No, I want the whole roster baby."

"That's twenty!" Mallory's eyes looked like they would fall out of her head. _"Twenty kids! Does he want to kill me?"_

"Yep. Twenty little ducks running around." He laughed at the images of red headed and green eyed kids running around and hanging all over them both.

"We'll talk about it later when you're not hopped up on morphine." She laughed, kissing him on the beak a couple of times.

"Let's start after we're better." He joked. Mallory laughed again.

Tanya came in to see the two love birds giving each other sweet kisses. "Ha ha, sorry to in-interrupt but I finished it!" She held up the high-tech metal arm that looked just like Wildwing's lost arm. Its physical appearance was the same as his arm only is was obviously a shiny metal instead of white feathers and skin. "With this it'll be like you never lost your arm in the first place! It'll take some getting used to, you're pr-probably going to break some things by accident with it, cause well you know its super strong but you'll get a hold of it in no time. Now we just have to let you heal a little more and we'll be able to attach it. It should automatically link up with your nerves." She brought it over to show the two. Both were impressed by it.

"That's awesome Tanya. How did you even make something that can link up to his nerves?" Mallory ran her fingers over the cool hard metal while Wildwing's eyes studied every inch of it.

"Oh! Orion's mind control. The technology was so advanced. I would've never been able to make this if I hadn't studied and kept that stuff. Another upside was I made it so that the mask wouldn't interfere with it."

"Thanks Tanya. This means a lot." Wildwing smiled at her.

"Oh well you know I'd do it for anyone of you guys. You're all b-basically family!" She smiled, placing her best work yet down on the table behind her. "Nosedive keeps talking about how badass it looks and how he wanted one." She shook her head. They laughed at Dive's enthusiasm, all incredibly happy. There was a good reason to celebrate, Dragaunus was dead and the raptor was unharmed. When the time was right, they were going home.

"Hey Tanya, could you give Mallor moment." Wildwing said. Wanting to speak with her about what he saw in the infirmary the day they beat Orion.

"Sure. I'll be back to check on you both in an hour." She walked out, intending to go see how the others were doing.

When she was gone Mallory turned to Wildwing curiously. "Why did you need to speak alone?" She tilted her head at him.

He found it adorable when she tilted her head at him like that but needed to get this out before he was too drugged to think right. "Mallory, I don't know if you'll believe me but its about your brother." Her eyes widened in surprise but she remained quiet, wanting to hear what he had to say. "He had a message for you..."

…..

3 months later…

Bard Grayfeather walked through the empty halls of headquarters back to his large office. Pressing his hand to the scanner it lit up activating when warmth and pressure was placed on the panel. The light over it turned green, allowing access to his office. It was one of the most well-guarded rooms in the whole building thanks to all his top-secret work.

Looking down at the paper on his desk he sneered at the group of ducks on the news articles. The Mighty Ducks, Puckworld's Heroes Returned Home Victorious. He read the headlines then his eyes traced the group. To the right stood the blond female with the one-eyed thief, both were holding hands and smiled proudly at the camera. To the left the largest member had his arm wrapped around a small brunette who was looking up at him adoringly, in the description below it named her as Lisa Hardwing, his wife. Next to them was the youngest member of the group, the leader's brother smirked with a hand resting on his brother's shoulder while looking at the camera. Then finally in the very center was the leader with a robotic arm that was gently wrapped around the weapons and martial arts expert. Bard scuffed when he saw the red head. In this picture Wildwing's arm was wrapped gently around her waist, being careful of her delicate condition, his metal hand resting protectively on her stomach, that was showing life was growing inside her womb. If Orion was still alive then he was having a shit fit right now. The women he was so desperate to be with was married to and impregnated by another man. He dropped the paper back to the desk and sat in his chair. Turning on his computer and the lights in the room he froze at the strange silver robot and the all too familiar drake sitting in a chair on the side of the room, gun in hand and currently aimed at Bard's head.

"….Orion?"

"Surprised?" He smirked, walking up to his desk gun still aimed. The robot stood behind him like a bodyguard. "Don't bother hitting your emergency button. I've disconnected it."

"I figured you were died."

"Almost." Orion glared at the duck responsible for everything that went wrong in his life. He had just barely made it out of that factory alive. The very robot behind him came and grabbed him, taking him to the Medipod so that he could be healed. Once he was ready, he came back to Puckworld, using the device that he created to get to Earth in the first place.

"What do you want?" Bard asked, bringing his hands up to show surrender. Orion didn't answer him, instead he shot him with puck ropes and tied Bard to his office chair. "What are you doing?" Still Orion didn't answer. He looked at the paper on Bard's desk and picked it up.

"She's all over the news." He murmured, looking at how happy she looked with Wildwing and vice versa. Both were the picture of happiness.

" _It should have been me…. No it's my fault. I almost killed her. I love her enough to let her go but not completely."_ Orion threw the papers he was looking at aside and took a seat in front of Bard. "Where is she Bard?"

Bard shifted in the chair he was tied to. "Orion it didn't work. She was dead when we found her."

"No she wasn't. Answer the question." Orion placed his gun against Bard's knee. "I know you have her here somewhere. In this office, specifically. Tell me where and I'll consider sparing your life."

Bard looked back and forth between Orion and the gun barrel sitting directly over his kneecap in panicked jerky motions. "Wait! Okay! Okay. Under my desk there's a number pad to the right side. Type in 569211."

Orion moved the gun away from Bard's knee. "If this is a trick then you realize I will have all the time in the world to take my revenge on you."

"It's not a trick. Just do it." Bard growled.

Walking away from the tied-up duck, Orion did as instructed. Once the code was in, a wood panel that looked like a normal wall slid open. Walking back around the desk Orion dragged Bard by the back of his chair into the secret room. There she was, completely untouched. Looking the same as when he left her. Walking up to the large glass chamber that held what was supposed to be an empty body, his eyes traced her beautiful face. Her hair was long, gently curling in red rings down to her waist. She wasn't alive when he had to run away and assumed she was never living, but he hadn't been sure of that to begin with. After all he had been interrupted before the process could be completed but that didn't mean that it didn't complete itself while they were chasing him, in fact he was now positive it did complete itself, why else would Bard have kept her. Here she was, tucked away safely in these walls this whole time.

Bard watched Orion approach the chamber and laid his hand over where her heart was. "What are you going to do?"

The handsome duck didn't reply, instead he typed in a code and the chamber door slid open. The strange smoke surrounding the red head cleared and ever so slightly her eyes began to open. "It worked." Orion whispered in awe. The red-headed duck's eyes suddenly shot open, intense emeralds stared right at him in question. "Hello Mallory." Orion offered his hand to the clone. Gently she took his offered hand and stepped out.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Orion Bluebill. Your fiance."

Fin.

AN: Finally! This beast of a story is done! Hope you all enjoyed, please leave reviews and tell me what your overall thought of it was.


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